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THE PHILOSOPHY 



OF 



THE H¥MAN VOICE: 

EMBRACING ITS 

PHYSIOLOGICAL HISTORY; 

TOGETHER WITH A " w 

SYSTEM OF PRINCIPLES 

B\ WHK'h 

CRITICISM IN l III Mil' 01 BUM UTIOK 

^1A^ IB I iiciBLt, 

AND 

[NSTRUCTIONi DEI IN1TE and C0MPREHENSIV1 

to mm 11 it a) 
A BB1EF Aft 

OF 

SOW; AMD RECITATIVE 



M J \MI ^ Rl $11 M. Ii 






PHILADELPH1 \. 

PRINTED Bl J. max 
1887. 






EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, to wit: 

BE IT Remembered, that on the twentieth day of January, in 
the fifty-first year of the independence of the United States of America, 
A. D. 1827, James Rash, M. D. of the said district, hath deposited in this 
office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as Author, in the 
words following, to wit: 

The Philosophy of the HumSh Voice: embracing its Physiological His- 
tory; togcUter uiih a System of Principles by which Critkisni in th< art 
of Elocution may be rendered intelligible, and instruction, dtjircl( unJ 
comprehensive. To which is added a brief Analysis of Song and Recita- 
tive, by James Rush, M. D. 

In conformity to the act of the congress of the United States, intituled 
" An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of 
maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of 6uch copies, 
during the times therein mentioned." — And also to the act, entitled. 
M An act supplementary to an act, entitled, tl An act for the encourage- 
ment of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to 
the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein men- 
tioned, " and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, en- 
graving, and etching historical and other prints." 

D. CALDWELL, 
Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 



s* 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION, 1 

SECTION 1. Off thx - is of vocal mud, with 

a more particular Recount 

II. * lical and Yuni>!iii tlie 

yoke ; and i 

III. Of tin- elementary sound- of th lan- 

guage; with 
ami 

IV. Of the influence oi \\\< 

in the production ol ( 

, in 
relaticm to it> different qualiti< 88 

VI. Ot the Melody ol ; ther with an 

inquiry how i and Modu- 

lation are applicable to it, 

VII. Of Ike Expression ol S| uu 

VII I. Of the Quality Of kind ol Voice, 

1\. Of the 1 ime of th I 149 

\. oi the Expression ol kfl 

\I. Or the Intonaii 186 

XII. Of the Groupi 

XIII. Or the Interval ot th 

XIV. Oi the Interval ot the Fifth, 21 i 
IV. Ol the Interval of the Third, 

W 1. or the Intonation of Inter: . u(ences, 218 

XVII Ot th" Interval of the Second 241 



\ v CONTENTS. 

SECTION XVIII. Of the Interval of the Semitone; and of 

the Chromatic Melody founded thereon, 247 

XIX. Of the downward Radical and Vanishing 

Movement, 260 

XX. Of the Downward Octave, 265 

XXI. Of the Downward Fifth, 267 

XXII. Of the Downward Third, 271 

XXIII. Of the Downward Second and Semitone, 277 

XXIV. Of the Wave of the voice, 279 

XXV. Of the Equal Wave of the Octave, 287 

XXVI. Of the Equal Wave of the Fifth, 289 

XXVII. Of the Equal Wave of the Third, 292 

XXVIII. Of the Equal Wave of the Second, 293 

XXIX. Of the Equal Wave of the Semitone, 298 

XXX. Of the Wave of Unequal Intervals, 301 

XXXI. Of the Tremor of the Voice, 312 

XXXII. Of Force of Voice, 325 

XXXIII. Of the Radical Stress, 329 

XXXIV. Of the Median Stress, 337 

XXXV. Of the Vanishing Stress, 342 

XXXVI. Of the Compound Stress, 346 

XXXVII. Of the Thorough Stress, 348 

XXXVIII. Of the Loud Concrete, 349 

XXXIX. Of the Time of the Concrete 350 
XL. Of the Aspiration, 352 
XLI. Of the Emphatic Vocule, 359 
XLII. Of the Guttural Emphasis, 362 
XLIII. Of Accent, 364 
XLIV. Of Emphasis, 373 

Of the Radical Emphasis, 375 

Of the Median Emphasis, 376 

Of the Vanishing Emphasis, 377 

¥ Of the Compound Emphasis, 378 

Of the Thorough Emphasis, 379 

Of the Aspirated Emphasis, 380 

Of the Emphatic Vocule, 581 

Of the Guttural emphasis, 382 

Of the Temporal Emphasis, 385 



CONTENJ V 

HON XLIV. Of the Emphasis of Pitch, 385 

Of the Emphasis of the Octave, 387 

Of the Emphasis of the Fifth, 390 

Of the Emphasis of the Third, 391 

Of the Emphasi* of the Semitone, 39S 

Of the Downward Concrete, 395 

Of the Downward Octal e, 397 

Of the Downward Fifth, 399 

<>t the Dow nw aid Third, 400 

Of the Emphasis of the Wave, 409 

Of the E(jua! k tave, 404 

<M the Equal \ ave ot the Fifth, ib. 

(H 405 

41)7 

\ U i; , 410 

489 

424 

ib. 

ib. 

ot | 

01 ib. 

ess, 
O! 

01 

ih. 

itkm, ib. 

al Drift of the Guttural Empha- 

ib. 
•station, ib. 

Dr. It ot \1. 

428 
\IA I 

Of the I 

IK Feebleness of Voice, 445 

By Loudness of Voice, ib. 

IK Quickness of V G 446 



v i CONTENTS. 

SECTION XLVI. By Slowness of Voice, 446 
By Quality of Voice, 447 
By the Semitone, ib. 
By the Second or Tone, ib. 
By the Rising Third, Fifth and Octave, 448 
By the Downward Third, Fifth and Oc- 
tave, 449 
By the Wave, of the Semitone, ib. 
By the Wave of the Second, 45Q 
By the Waves of the Third, Fifth and Oc- 
tave, ib* 
By the Radical Stress, 451 
By the Median Stress, 452 
By the Vanishing Stress, ib. 
By the Compound Stress, 455 
By the Tremor of the Second and higher 

Intervals, ib. 

By the Tremor of the Semitone, 454 

By the Aspiration, ib. 

By the Guttural Emphasis, 455 

By the Emphatic Vocule, ib. 

By the Broken Melody, ib. 

XLVII. Of the Mode of Instruction in Elocution, 461 

Of Practice on the Alphabetic Elements, 465 

Of Practice on the Time of Elements, 471 

Of Practice on the Vanishing Movement, 473 

Of Practice on Force, 474 

Of Practice on Stress, ib. 

Of Practice on Pitch, 475 

Of Practice on Melody, 478 

Of Practice on the Cadence, ib; 

Of Practice on the Tremor, 479 

Of Practice on the Quality of Voice, 480 

Of Practice in Rapidity of Speech, 482 

XLVIII. Of the Rhythmus of Speech, 491 

XLIX. Of the Faults of Readers, 504 

Of Faults in Quality, 515 

Of Faults in Time, 516 



CONTENTS. 



vil 



SECTION XLIX. Of Faults in Force, 518 

Of Faults in Pitch, 520 

Of Faults in the Concrete Movement, ib. 

Of Faults in the Semitone, 521 

Of Faults in the Second, 522 

Of Faults in the Melody of Speech, 524 

First Fault in Melody, j D . 

Second Fault in Melody, 525 

Third Fault in Melody, 526 

Fourth Fault in Melody, 527- 

Fifth Fault in Melody, 529 

Sixtli Fault in Melody, 530 

Seventh Fault in Melody, 535 

Of Faults in the Cadence. 534 

Of Faults in the Third, 537 

Of Faults in the Fifth, 538 

Of Faults in the Downward Movement, 539 

CM Faults in the Discret.- M«.v. inent, ib. 

Of Faults in the Wave, 540 

Of Faults in the Melody of the Pause, 541 

Ol 'Fault, in Drift, 540 

Of Monotony of Voice, 545 

Of Uanting in Speech, 545 

Of Affectation in Speech, \\y 

Ol Mouthing in Speech, j D# 

Conclusion, 547 
\ Uriel Analysis of Song and Recitative, 557 



ERRATA. 

Page xvi, line 18, for conventual, read conventional, 

xxi, 5, Pausanius, Pausanias. 

effect affect, 

give gives, 

cannon, canon. 

they abruptly abruptly, 

base bass. 



S8, 


20, 


318, 


25, 


340, 


18, 


409, 


31, 


543, 


14, 



INTRODUCTION 



The analysis of the human voice, contained in 
the following essay, was undertaken some years 
ago, exclusively as a subject of physiological inqui- 
ry. The discovery of some of the essential func- 
tions of speech, having led to a full investigation of 
the modes of utterance, I was induced to attempt a 
methodical description of all the vocal phenomena, 
with a view to bring the subject within the limits 
of science, and thereby to assist the purposes of 
oratorical instruction. 

By every scheme of the cyclopaedia, the descrip- 
tion of the voice is classed among the duties of the 
physiologist; yet he has strangely neglected his part, 
by borrowing the small substance of his knowledge 
from the fancies of rhetoricians, and the dull errors 
of grammarians. It is time at last for physiology, 
of right, and seriously to take up its task. 

In entering on this inquiry, I determined to avoid 
an express reference to the productions of former 
writers, until the authority of nature over the ear 
was so far established by observation, as to obviate 
the danger of adopting unquestioned errors, which 

B 



ii INTRODUCTION. 

the stoutest resolution of independence finds it so 
difficult to avoid. Even a faint recollection of school 
instruction was not without its forbidding interfe- 
rence, with my first endeavour to discover, by the 
ear alone, the hidden processes of speech. 

After obtaining an outline of the work of nature 
in the voice, sufficient to enable me to avail myself 
of the useful truths of other observers, and to guard 
against their mistakes, I consulted all the accessible 
treatises on the subject, particularly the European 
compilations of the day, the authors of which have 
opportunities for selection, not enjoyed in this coun- 
try. Finding on comparison, that the following his- 
tory of the voice represents its nature more exten- 
sively and definitely than any known system, I have 
been induced to offer it to the public. Many errors 
may be found in it; but if the leading points of ana- 
lysis, and the general method be not a copy from 
nature, and do not prompt others, far better fur- 
nished than I have been with the resources of abili- 
ty, time, and companionable assistance, to carry 
these principles into specific detail, I shall forever 
deeply regret the publication. 

It becomes me, however, to remark, that as this 
work has not been made up from the quoted, or con- 
troverted, or accommodated opinions of authors, I 
shall totally disregard any decision upon its merits, 
which is not made by a scrutinizing comparison 
with nature herself. 

The art of speaking well, has, in most civilized 
countries, been a cherished mark of distinction be- 
tween the elevated and the humble conditions of 



INTRODUCTION. [[[ 

life, and has been immediately connected with some 
of the greater labours of ambition and taste. It ma} r 
therefore appear extraordinary, that the world, with 
all its works of philosophy, should have been satis- 
fied with the instinctive exercise of the art, and 
with the occasional examples of its perfection, with- 
out an endeavour to found an analytic system of in- 
struction, productive of more multiplied instances 
of success. Due reflection, however, will convince 
us, that even this extended purpose of the art of 
speaking, has been one of the causes of neglect. 
It has been a popular art ; and works for popularity 
are too often the works of mediocrity The majori- 
ty around the stage, the senate, the bar, and the 
pulpit, deprecate the trouble of improvement: and 
the satisfaction of the general ear is, in no less a de- 
gree, encouraging to the faults of the voice, than 
the approving judgment of the million is subver- 
sive of the rigid discipline of the mind. 

Physiologists have described, and classed the or- 
ganic positions by which the alphabetic elements 
are produced. This has been done by the rule, and 
with the success of philosophy. Other attempts 
have not been so fair or so fortunate. When they 
have taken up the subject of intonation, that is, the 
movement of the voice in regard to its pitch, they 
have not accurately measured by some known or 
invented scale, the modes and degrees of such move- 
ments ; and thus furnished a real detail of the eco- 
nomy of speech. But they have undertaken to de- 
termine whether the organs of the voice partake of 
the nature of a wind or stringed instrument — how 



i v INTRODUCTION. 

the falsette is made, and whether acuteness and gra- 
vity are formed by variations in the dimensions of 
the glottis, or in the length of the larynx. They 
have removed the organs from men and other ani- 
mals, and have produced something like their na- 
tural voices by blowing through them. They have 
inspected and named the curious structure of the 
cartilages and muscles of the larynx, with the ab- 
surd purpose to discover thereby the cause of into- 
nation, when they were ignorant of the very forms 
of that intonation. In short, they have tried to 
see sound, and to touch it with the dissecting knife 
— and all this without reaching any positive con- 
clusion, or describing any more of the audible ef- 
fects of the anatomical structure, than was known 
to rhetoricians, two thousand years ago. 

Instead of listening to the forms of vocal sound, 
and recording them, physiologists have copied the 
common places of argument from one another, from 
the time of Galen to the present, with that variety 
only which the mere capricious changes in arrange- 
ment produce. 

The Greek and Roman rhetoricians, and the wri- 
ters on music have recorded their knowledge of the 
general affections of the voice. They distinguished 
its different qualities by such terms as hard, smooth, 
sharp, clear, hoarse, full, slender, flowing, flexible, 
shrill, and austere. They knew the time of the 
voice, and had a view to its quantities in pronun- 
ciation. They gave to loud and soft, appropriate 
places in speech. They perceived the existence of 
pitch, or variation of high and low: noting further, 



INTRODUCTION. V 

that the rise and fall in speaking were made by 
a concrete or continuous slide of the voice. This 
concrete sound, was, in their system, contra-distin- 
guished from the change of pitch produced on mu- 
sical instruments, which consists in a rise or fall to 
other places of pitch, without the continuous junc- 
tion of the slide. This was called discrete sound. 
The ancients however show no acquaintance 
with the subdivisions, definite degrees, and particu- 
lar applications of these general affections, for the 
discriminative purposes of oratorical use: and if we 
may judge, from an attempt by Dionysius of Hali- 
carnassus to point out the difference between sing- 
ing and speech, and from some other descriptions, 
totally irreconcilable with any of the present modes 
of intonation, we must believe that they made only 
a limited analysis of the voice; that the cultivation 
of the art of speaking was conducted altogether by 
imitation; and that the means of improvement were 
not reduced to any precise or available directions 
of art. 

No one can read the discourse on the manage- 
ment of the voice, in Quinctilian's elaborate chap- 
ter on action, without allowing to the ancients a 
power of perceiving the beauties and blemishes of 
speech. Yet among so many indications of their 
practical familiarity with the art, we find no clear 
description of its elements, nor any definite instruc- 
tion. The abundant detail throughout his work, 
which more than once suggests an apology for its 
minuteness, precludes the supposition that he de- 
signedly omitted to describe any well known means, 



Vi INTRODUCTION. 

by which the various modes of the voice might be 
represented with useful precision. 

It is believed that the ancient rhetoricians desig- 
nated the pitch of vocal sounds by the term accent. 
They made three kinds of accents, the acute, the 
grave, and the circumflex; signifying, severally, the 
rise, fall, and turn of the voice. The existence of 
differently pointing small lines, and these conjoined 
in angle, in Greek manuscripts and in print, since 
the seventh century, which have been considered 
as indicials of the ancient manner of pitching the 
voice, has afforded the only data for inquiring into 
the nature of Greek intonation, and has created a 
learned dispute, which has been continued without 
one satisfactory result, from the time of the ^ ounger 
Vossius, to the recent days of Foster and Gaily. 

If Greek scholars had employed other means 
than contests with each other, for ascertaining the 
intention of accentual marks, it would long ago 
have been determined whether they directed to 
any practical knowledge of Greek utterance, or 
might be erased from notation, as a subject of use- 
less perplexity. If the tongue had been once con- 
sulted on this point, these symbols, even with the 
certainty of their alleged use, would have been re- 
jected as vague and meagre representations of the 
rich variety and measurable modes of the voice. 

The disputants found that degree of obscurity in 
the ancient records on accent, which encourages the 
profitless labours, and alternate triumphs of party; 
which subjects opinion to all the knavery of secta- 
rean argument, and shuts out the conclusive inqui- 



INTRODUCTION. vii 

ries of independent observation. In the full spirit 
of the old dialectic art, they discoursed about truth 
until they forgot to discover it: and whilst they 
have exhibited a distressing waste of time and 
thought and temper, by seeking in the obscurity of 
unfinished records, that light which would readily 
have arisen on their observation, they hold out to 
the future historians of literature, a temptation to- 
wards the sarcastic inquiry, whether the writers on 
Greek and Roman accent were endowed with the 
powers of hearing and pronunciation. 

Since the decline or limitation of classic authority, 
modern inquirers, by listening to the sounds of their 
own language, have at last undertaken to discover 
other elemental functions of the voice, than the 
scanty indications of Greek accentual marks. 

The works of Steele, Sheridan and Walker have 
made large contributions to the long neglected and 
still craving condition of our tongue. 

Mr. Joshua Steele published, at London, in the 
year seventeen hundred and seventy -five, " An es- 
say towards establishing the melody and measure of 
speech, to be expressed and perpetuated, by pecu- 
liar symbols." The design of this essay was sug- 
gested by some remarks on the nature of speech, 
made by lord Monboddo, in his " origin and progress 
of language;" and was executed, in part, as an argu- 
mentative correspondence between this author and 
Mr. Steele. 

Future times must smile at some of the effects of 
classical pursuits, if they should ever know that a 
free inquirer had considerable difficulty, in con- 



Viii INTRODUCTION. 

vincing a scholar, at the end of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, that the English language has those quali- 
ties of accent and quantity, which were supposed 
to belong exclusively to the Greek and Latin: for 
this was one of the objects in the controversy. Mr. 
Steele has therefore given a notation of the time of 
the voice; and in showing that the same concrete 
intonation which belonged to syllables of the Greek 
language, is necessarily heard on those of his own, 
has endeavoured, but unsuccessfully, to describe its 
specific application and range. The principal de- 
sign of his work is, to set forth a system of rythmic 
notation, by which the accidents of emphasis and 
pause may be represented to a pupil; and the habit 
of attention fixed on these great points in the art of 
reading. 

Mr. Steele seems to have possessed nicety of ear; 
knowledge of the science and practice of music, to- 
gether with an originality of mind, created by ob- 
servation and reflection: powers sufficient, when 
well directed, to have fulfilled the unaccomplished 
inquiry into human speech. 

Had he pursued truth by observation instead of 
controversy; had he not let his attention fall into the 
deviating course of argument; nor suffered the 
harmless respect of a verbal decorum towards the 
opinions and objections of others, to exert a secret 
weight of authority; had he not looked back to the 
ancients, and the dark confusion of their commenta- 
tors, but kept his undeviating ear on nature, she 
would at last have led him up to light. 



INTRODUCTION. i x 

Mr. Sheridan is well known by his accurate and 
systematic investigation of the art of reading: and 
though he improved both the detail and method, 
of his subject, in the departments of pronunciation, 
emphasis and pause, he made no analysis of intona- 
tion. A regretted omission! The more so, from the 
certainty, that if this topic had invited his attention, 
his genius and industry would have shed their full 
light of explanation upon it. 

Mr. Walker, who, by his rhetorical and philolo- 
gical labours, has contributed largely to the im- 
provement of the English language, exhibits in 
more than one place of his works, that the varie- 
ties of intonation were studiously examined by hi in: 
indeed, he reiterates his claims to originality on this 
subject. Mr. Walker may have been the first to 
endeavour to apply the old system of accents to a 
modern language: but he has scarcely gone beyond 
the analysis on which this ancient doctrine of in- 
flection was founded. Some of the Greek writers 
on music, and many subsequent authors who have 
quoted them, have noted the rise, and fall, and cir- 
cumflex turn of speech. Aristoxenus the philoso- 
pher, a pupil of Aristotle, first observed or des- 
cribed that peculiar rise and fall of sound by a con- 
crete or continuous progression, which distinguishes 
the vocal movement, from the skipping or discrete 
transition on musical instruments. 

Mr. Walker does triumphantly claim the disco- 
very of the inverted circumflex accent, or the down- 
ward and upward continued movement. Yet, if it 
is correctly inferred from the dates of publication. 



x INTRODUCTION. 

and from Mr. Walker's rather derisive allusion to 
Mr. Steele's essay, that the latter author preceded 
him, he might have found, in Mr. Steele's gravo- 
acute accent, proof of the real existence of his 
newly found function of the voice. 

Mr. Walker was an accomplished reader, and 
knew well how to manage his intonation; but in his 
attempt to delineate it, he is not more definite than 
Mr. Steele in noting his degrees of inflection, and 
is much less full. His insinuation that music and 
speech, each being but varying affections of sound, 
should not be illustrated by some analagous nota- 
tion, and his erroneous diagrams of the progress of 
pitch, are instances of a want of reflection and of 
obtuseness of ear, which would be quite reprehen- 
sible in any one, who, without compulsion, should 
undertake to investigate the relationships of sound. 

I have thus summed up the sources, and noted 
the degree of our knowledge of the vocal func- 
tions. There exists a copious -detail in the branches 
of articulation, emphasis, accent, (in its signification 
of stress) and pause. On the other hand, the ana- 
lysis of intonation has not been carried much be- 
yond the recorded knowledge of the ancients. 
Greek and Roman writers tell us, indefinitely, of 
the acute, grave, and circumflex movements; and 
these, with the newly described inverted circum- 
flex, have, at a recent date, first been formally re- 
garded, in the art of speaking the English language. 

These four general heads of intonation are truly 
drawn from nature : yet, with their present vague 
meaning, they are useless for practical instruction, 



INTRODUCTION. Xl 

and are no less imperfectly expressive of the mea- 
surable modifications of speech, than the four car- 
dinal terms of the compass are descriptive of all the 
points, distances, and contents of space. 

The discovery of the abovementioned distinc- 
tions in intonation, which must indeed form the out- 
line of all nicer discriminations, was the result of 
philosophical inquiry. A much more abundant, but 
not more precise nomenclature has been derived 
from criticism. The following phrases are extract- 
ed from a description of Mr. Garrick's manner of 
reading the church service, and have an especial 
reference to the intonation of his voice. — u Even 
tenor of smooth regular delivery" — " Fervent 
tone" — " Sincerity of devotional expression" — 
11 Repentant tone" — " Reverential tone" — " Even- 
ness of voice" — " Tone of solemn dignity" — u Of 
supplication" — " Of sorrow and contrition." 

Those who know what constitutes the accuracy of 
terms, must confess that these and similar attempts 
to name the signs of expression, have no more 
claims to the title of clear elemental description, 
than belongs to the rambling signification of vulgar 
nomenclature. We are not aware that no images 
of audible perception are associated with these 
phrases, until required to illustrate them by some 
assignable accidents of vocal sounds. " Grandeur of 
feeling," says a writer, " should be expressed with 
pomp and magnificence of tone •," and we may pre- 
sume, that if he had been asked how pomp and mag- 
nificence of feeling should be expressed, he would 
have said, by grandeur of tone. These are words. 



xii INTRODUCTION. 

not definitions. Nor can any weight of authority 
give them the power of description: since the 
terms <c sorrowful expression," and " tone of solemn 
dignity !" in the instruction of an accomplished Elo- 
cutionist, have no more precision of meaning, as to 
pitch, time, and force of sound, than " fine turned 
cadence," and " chaste modulation," in the idle cri- 
ticism of a daily gazette. 

All arts and sciences appear under two different 
conditions. They may be seen through the medi- 
um of terms of vague signification, adapted to the 
limited knowledge and feeble senses of the ignorant, 
in every caste of society. Those who view them 
under this condition, in vainly pretending to discri- 
minate, express nothing but their approbation. In 
the other light, they are shown in definite deliuea- 
tion, by a language of unchangeable meaning, close- 
ly appropriate to all their parts ; and independently 
of the perversions, which slender ability, natural 
temper, or momentary humour may create. He 
who thus views an art, in expressing his approba- 
tion, always discriminates. 

Some branches of the art of speaking, are, even 
at this late period of cultivation, scarcely removed 
from the first of these conditions. We might say, 
this is strange, if the causes were not so manifest. 
The specific constituents of intonation and force 
and time, have been unknown: and the mind has 
consequently wanted that fine stimulus to atten- 
tion, which abundant and definite terms always 
afford. The fullness of the nomenclature of an art is 
always directly proportional to the degree of its 



INTRODUCTION. x iii 

improvement; and the precision of its terms is al- 
most synonimous with its perfection. The few and 
indeterminate designations of the modes of sound in 
reading, compared with their number and accuracy 
in music, imply the different degree of success 
with which each has been cultivated. The inqui- 
rers into the nature of speech, have given up their 
judgments to authority, and their pens to quotation. 
The musician has devoted his ear to observation, 
and his labour to the trial of its truth. The words, 
quick, slow, long, short, loud, soft, rise, fall and turn, 
include nearly all the analytic terms of the art. 
How far they fall short of an enumeration of all the 
functions of the voice, and how fairly I have repre- 
sented the present condition of our knowledge, 
shall be determined by an age to ccme, when the 
ear will have made deliberate examination. 

A conviction of the imperfect state of our know- 
ledge in some of the branches of the art of speak- 
ing, first suggested the design of the ensuing inves- 
tigation of them: whilst a hope to influence others to 
assist in the completion of a desirable measurement 
and method of the voice, produces the present pub- 
lication. If I have failed to furnish a plan for the 
future establishment of the principles of intona- 
tion and time and force, I must still desire to be- 
lieve, without controversy, in the attainable nature, 
and practical benefits of such a work. 

I cannot withhold from this place, a few very 
general remarks on the importance of fixed princi- 
ples in the arts; not only because these principles 
are the true sources of the intellectual enjoyment 



xiv INTRODUCTION. 

which the arts afford, but because they are the most 
effective means for their improvement. And al- 
though the entire want of such principles, for the 
government of intonation, has unnecessarily led to 
the belief that they cannot be instituted, still I 
hope to show, in the following essay, that they are 
not only as essential, but likewise as attainable in 
Elocution, as in any other art which employs the 
judgment, and interests the imagination. 

Those persons who receive the highest enjoy- 
ment from the works of art, know well, that its ful- 
ness and durability are derived from a wide and 
vivid discernment, acquired by a disciplined reflec- 
tion on the principles of taste which directed their 
production. The knowledge of these principles 
gives power to the artist, and delight to him who 
contemplates the work. It is not the form, or co- 
lour or sound, which merely passes into the eye or 
the ear, that constitutes an enlightened perception 
of the objects of the fine arts. Delicate organization 
is, indeed, essential to this perception : but it is the 
activity of the senses or the mind in the work of 
comparison, or in the application of pre-established 
rules, which forms the liberal pleasure of taste. 
And if there is yet to be discovered some surpas- 
sing efficacy of art, it can never be attained, except 
through the influence of sure and multiplied princi- 
ples. 

The discussion of the subject of standard princi- 
ples, in some of the arts, has always involved the 
question of their origin : and nature has generally 
been assumed as the source. 



INTRODUCTION. X V 

There are two modes through which nature af- 
fords her governing rules in the arts. In one she 
sets as a prototype for exact imitation, in those 
branches of art which profess to copy her actual de- 
tads. In the other, which consists in adorning some 
one creation of art, by a selection from her scatter- 
ed integrals of beauty, the standard grows out of 
that congenial judgment and feeling, exhibited in 
strong similarity among persons of equal cultiva- 
tion ; which, if it does not declare conformity in 
taste to be the development of irreversible nature, 
at least affords education effectual means to perso- 
nate her. 

The uses of the voice have not yet been brought 
to the rule of either of these cases. Nature cannot 
be imitated entirely in her own aggregates*, since 
she never furnishes a single instance worthy to be 
copied : and from a want of a full knowledge of the 
elements of speech, and a definite nomenclature, 
there has never been that clear perception of the 
causes of beauty and deformity, which would war- 
rant the construction of a system upon the more 
artificial mode of selection. The highest achieve- 
ments in statuary, painting, and the landscape, con- 
sist of those ideal forms and compositions, which are 
perhaps never found purely associated in nature, 
but which far surpass her individual productions. 

In the following essay, the reader will find an 
analysis of the human voice, which will enable an 
Elocutionist of any nation, to reduce to established 
form, the best modes of speech in his language. 
He will also find the outline of a system of princi- 



xv i INTRODUCTION. 

pies that I have ventured to propose, as a selection 
of those excellencies of utterance, which are accom- 
modated to the temper and habits of the English 
ear ; and which, in analogy with the above named 
arts, may be called the ideal beauty of speech. 

The establishment of a code of principles in the 
arts, not only assists their further progress, and 
gives to the individual the highest pleasure of their 
cultivation : but there is another advantage, lying 
in the prospects of social benefit. Excursiveness 
of thought is the great delight of solitary reflection. 
The enjoyments in the work of invention, are divi- 
ded between the satisfaction of its accomplishment, 
and the busy activity of varied associations, pressing 
forward for selection. A reference to the approba- 
tion of others, or a willingness to contribute to their 
benefit, sacrifices the unsettled fancies of our silence, 
and creates a submission to those conventual rules 
of uttered thought, that in the companionship of ac- 
complished artists, produce an identity of opinion 
and feeling, which is the very interpretation of 
friendship. 

The accurate sciences and the fine arts, with 
great inadvertence to the pretensions of each, have 
been set in opposition to each other, by wider an- 
tithesis, than is justified on near examination. The 
careless argument asserts that taste is a variable 
feeling, and has no rule of beauty, in the uses of 
form, colour and sound. If the general agreement 
among men of equal education in the arts, approxi- 
mates towards the meaning of a standard, there is 
not full reason for the contrariety, decreed to these 



INTRODUCTION* . XYl i 

departments of knowledge. Who does not know 
that particular excellencies of the painter, poet, 
architect, orator, statuary, composer, landscape im- 
prover and actor, have touched the spring of per- 
ception, in those who reflect on their works, and 
fixed a criterion in universal approbation. 

Though future times will probably break down 
the mischievous distinction, which assigns a differ- 
ent kind of logic to different departments of know- 
ledge; and will subject all nature and art equally to 
the simple and sufficient process of observation aud 
classification : still it will not, in the present age, 
pass for great want of discernment, to say, that the 
perception of beauty in the Arts, and of the acci- 
dents of Quantity, has no very striking similarity. 
But I am aware of no other ren*on for the acknow- 
ledged certainty of the relationships of Magnitude 
and Number, than (he general consent of those who 
inquire into them. We agree upon them, because 
we all use the same rigid principles of observation 
and induction, and because we can embrace and 
contemplate all the premises which are involved 
in a conclusion. It is trifling, to urge that the pro- 
perties of a conic section would still exist as truths, 
though they might never be demonstrated. Truth 
is a term invented for the uses of a percipient be- 
ing; and the question before us is of knowledge, not 
of notions. Otherwise we might, with a similar 
proof of the fixedness of taste, assert that the pro- 
portions of a Greek column existed unhewn and 
unseen in the quarry *, — like that conceit of old 
which declared that the Venus of Gnidus was not 



xviii INTRODUCTION. 

the work of Praxiteles ; since nature herself had 
concreted the boundary surface of its beauty : the 
artist having only produced the fragments of his 
chisel, and the dust of his file. I argue here against 
an unqualified assertion of the variableness of the 
principles of taste, and the apathy evinced in the 
neglect to discover or establish them ; not for the 
equality of precision between them and the truths 
ot the exact sciences. 

If I have rightly considered the disputed subject 
of taste, its controversies consist of the differences 
of the ignorant with artists, and with one another 5 
and rarely of the variance of educated and intelli- 
gent artists among themselves. If the latter fail in 
setting their authority, or in extending the benefits 
of their principles over the presumptuous part of 
the multitude, it does not prove that a standard may 
not belong to the arts, or that artists do not enjoy 
the delightful effects of it ; but that there is more 
assuming vanity in the world than fellowship in 
knowledge. Silence or modest inquiry is the duty 
of the ignorant ; and where neither is performed, 
nature seems, in their cases, to have departed from 
her plan in animal creation, by not withholding from 
them the litigious faculty of speech. 

These differences cannot, of themselves, call in 
question the authority of principles in the arts. Most 
of the phenomena of cause and effect, in Natural 
Philosophy, are as obvious, as proofs of the proper- 
ties of curves by the most exact calculus. Still 
pretenders, whether the badge of their duties be the 
mattock or the mace, the cane ? the crosier or the 



INTRODUCTION. x [ x 

satchel, are constantly trespassing within the bounds 
of this science, by the absurdity of their reasonings 
with each other, on points of natural knowledge. 
Knaves exhibit their Perpetual motions, and the 
whole host of learned and unlearned credulity can- 
not change the influence of those principles, which 
at once determine the impossibility. 

There is a wholesome kind of conviction on the 
minds of fools, which forces them to confess that 
they should not meddle with opinions in mathema- 
tics, if they have not studied that science. But taste, 
say they, is natural; therefore every one should 
have his own. It is true, every one knows what 
will please himself, in his ignorance: but it is the 
wise only who know what will please the intelli- 
gent, in their education. 

In thus advocating the use of a general canon of 
principles for the government of an art, I deprecate 
any inference that it is designed to fix an unaltera- 
ble standard. Established preceptfl should not be, 
as the barrier of a flood, which in protecting from 
inroad, restrictively prevents the opportunities of 
further conquest; but as the guide and escort of the 
arts, to acquisitions of wider glory. With the ex- 
ception of the misused principle of novelty, I can- 
not name an art which has not been supported and 
advanced by their adoption. The search after nov- 
elty has, in the designs of impotent vanity and un- 
guarded patronage, ruined more arts than all the 
wasting efforts of barbarism and time. 

Besides the protection and means of advancement 
which systematic principles afford an art, their 



xx INTRODUCTION. 

powers are operative after a temporary decline, or 
total loss of its practice. They work a speedy re- 
storation when the influence of evil example has 
passed away, or a tradition of former excellence has 
produced a desire for its revival. The definite de- 
scription of elementary constituents and the state- 
ment of the rule of their use, is particularly neces- 
sary in the art of speaking well; since its exercise 
leaves no durable effect. The works of art, unac- 
companied by the history of their production and 
uses, are often as deep an enigma, as the works of 
nature : and a long course of observation is in each 
case equally required, to note and class their phe- 
nomena, and to discover their efficient and final 
causes. 

Although the ancients have left us abundant eu- 
logistic anecdotes of the art of Painting, they have 
been almost silent in relation to its higher princi- 
ples: and the want of these, even with the benefits 
of patronage, was one cause of the delay of at least 
two centuries, in the gradual progress to its com- 
plete restoration, in modern Europe. Stories of the 
graces and possible powers of ancient art were re- 
volved in the minds of the image-makers of Italy, 
and of the decorators of cloisters, like the pro- 
blems of the mechanical wonders of Archimedes, 
which were not to be solved by record or tradition. 
Greek architecture has been revived in mo- 
dern days, to that degree which belongs to the dull 
precision of measurement: and in this view, may 
serve all the purposes of a copy. A laborious ob- 
servation must yet be added to past inquiry, in or- 



INTRODUCTION. xx i 

der to retrieve the knowledge of those principles 
which directed the varied excellence of the an- 
cients: but which Vitruvius perhaps designedly 
omitted, whilst compiling a book for builders; and 
which Pausanius, in his hurried tour, forgot to set 
down, as the proper preface to his inventory of 
temples. 

If the old writers on music had not transmit- 
ted some account of their scales, and the relation- 
ships of their elements, the records of Choragic 
monuments, and the accounts of the Odeum would 
have created in us, only a stupid wonder at all the 
works of sound. The inventive mind of Guido, in- 
stead of completing the modern scale, might have 
only laid its foundation, by fixing a single chord 
across a shell, and the finished system of modern 
harmony might now have been but just begun. 

The following essay exhibits an attempt to deli- 
neate the varying modes of speech, with that pre- 
cise analysis which may render criticism instructive, 
and afford to future times, the means of compre- 
hending its discriminations. 

I am well aware, that in this undertaking, I op- 
pose a vulgar error. The minute distinctions, the 
perpetual variations, and the rapid course of utter- 
ance are considered as invincible obstacles to the 
palpable representation of the principles of the 
speaking voice. This objection will be hereafter 
answered, otherwise than by verbal argument. I 
would now only ask, if there is no opportunity to 
count the radii of a wheel but in the race ; or to 
number and describe the individuals of a herd, ex- 



xxii INTRODUCTION. 

cept in the promiscuous mingling of their flight. 
Music, with its infinitude of details, would still have 
been a mystery, if the doctrine of its intervals and 
time, and the modes of their construction could 
have been caught, only from the multiplied com- 
binations and rapid execution of the orchestra. The 
accuracy of mathematical calculation, joined with 
the sober patience of the ear over the slow practice 
of its elements, have not had more success in dis- 
closing the system of this beautiful and luminous 
science, than a similar watchfulness over the. deli- 
berate movements of speech, will afford for the faci- 
lities of instruction, and the conscious use of its 
acquisitions. If there is any scope in the works of 
nature, or any foredoomed efficiency of means to 
complete the circle of her designs, we shall find, on 
the development of the scheme of speech, those 
unalterable rules, within the pale of which the voice 
should be variously exercised, in order to give light 
to the understanding, and pleasure to the ear. 

The high accomplishments in Elocution are sup- 
posed to be, universally, the unacquired gifts of 
genius, and to consist of powers and " graces be- 
yond the reach of art." So seem the plainest 
services of arithmetic to a savage : and so, to the 
slave, seem all the ways of music, which modern 
art has so accurately penned as to time and tune 
and momentary grace. Ignorance knows not what 
has 'been done; indolence thinks nothing can be 
done j and both uniting, borrow from the abused 
eloquence of poetry, an aphorism to justify supine- 
ness of inquiry. 



INTRODUCTION. xxiii 

It has been said that a discovery of the full 
resources of the arts affords the means of debase- 
ment, or of perversion from their original purposes. 
This indeed has sometimes been the case. By an 
extension of the powers of musical execution, in 
the voice and on instruments, this art is through 
misused mechanical-skill, and the waywardness of 
undiscerning patronage, frequently exercised to 
the indifference or disgust of those, whose approba- 
tion would be durable^ and to the thoughtless satis- 
faction of those whom the caprice of ignorance may 
urge equally to support or to destroy. 

A full knowledge of the principles and practice 
of an art, enables an industrious and ambitious vo- 
tary to approach perfection ; whilst idle followers 
are contented with the defaults of imitation. With 
most men the labor of the mind, equally with that 
of the body, ceases with the removal of its neces- 
sity ; and the shameless dependance on the intel- 
lectual alms of others, is not less common than 
the populous growth of pauperism, on the increas- 
ing provisions of benevolence. The unbounded 
distributions of genius, prompt to excuses for indo- 
lence and to claims for succour, and the empire it- 
self of the art, at last falls under the insurrection 
and anarchy of its former servile dependents. 

I am thus ready to admit that a full analysis of 
speech, together with the establishment of a system 
of principles in the art, will not always exempt it 
from abuse or ruin. But I cannot therefore refrain 
from recommending a mode of cultivation, which 
must ensure the highest satisfaction, whilst the art 



xxiv INTRODUCTION. 

remains uncorrupted, and which, by the record of 
its definitions and method, will afford the best 
means for any needed restoration. 

Perhaps I am not wrong in asserting that the art 
of speaking well, does not consist of those accidents, 
which, by arbitrary use, are apt to lead to debase- 
ment. Many of the fine arts may have the addition 
of ornament, properly so called j which holding but 
a separable relationship to its subject or principal, 
leaves taste to order the degree of its application, 
or its total exclusion. The art of speaking is sub- 
ject to no such conditions. The imbodying of sense 
by sound, and the coloring of feeling by its expres- 
sive modes, are fixed in their amenity by the unal- 
terable instincts of nature, or the satisfactory deci- 
sions of convention. All addition to the numbered 
signs of its language is redundancy, and ail mis- 
placed utterance is affectation. 

The following history of the voice is addressed 
especially to those who pursue science with atten- 
tion and perseverance ; who prefer its useful accu- 
racy to its ostentation ; who are satisfied with the 
" few — but fit audience" — and who know, from 
their own happy experience, that exactness of 
knowledge is the bright felicity of intellect. To 
inquirers of this character, I need not say that even 
the rapid flight of speech may be more easily fol- 
lowed, when the general principles of its move- 
ments are understood and have become familiar, 
The hesitation nf the ear will be prompted by the 
mind, and we shall more readily discern what is, 
by knowing what ought to be. 



INTRODUCTION. XXV 

After the preceding representation of our limit- 
ed knowledge of the functions of the voice, and upon 
the promises of a more extended and precise ana- 
lysis, the reader must not be surprised to find, in 
the following essay, a new and copious nomencla- 
ture. When the outline of an art is traced to its 
unnamed divisions ; or even when its known pheno- 
mena are exhibited under varied relationships, the 
purpose of instruction, in describing these parti- 
culars, is less perplexed, by the novelty of invent- 
ed terms than by an attempt to give another ap- 
plication or meaning to former names. 

Many of the varieties of pitch having been accu- 
rately designated and clearly arranged in music, I 
have freely transferred its applicable nomenclature 
to the description of speech : and whenever a lan- 
guage has been purposely framed, I have endea- 
voured to make it, by direct or metaphorical use, 
purely explanatory of the nature of the vocal func- 
tions. 

Although I have gone deeply into the philoso- 
phical analysis of speech, and have spared no pains 
or detail in illustrating whatever might otherwise 
be obscure from its novelty ; I have not pretended 
to make specific application of the principles of in- 
tonation, to all the styles of the reading and speak- 
ing voice. This assumption of the discipline and 
practice of the habitual teacher, is beyond my de- 
sign. I have treated the subject in that general 
manner which is best suited to a limited command of 
time. The full development of an art must be the 
work of many, and of their lives. I have here given 



xxv i INTRODUCTION. 

the result of the leisure of about three years, snatch- 
ed from the daily duty of extensive professional oc- 
cupation. If in discharging the duties of that profes- 
sion, I have selected from its physiological depart- 
ment, a subject of inquiry which gives its ultimate 
services in another art ; I have not therein forgotten 
that nature, who never is ungrateful to the eyes 
that watch her, has still her secrets in the human 
frame, yet to be told for the health or happiness 
of man : the future search after which, may not be 
without success, and will not be without the satis- 
faction experienced in conducting these offered 
scrutinies of the tongue and ear. 

The reception which may await the following 
work, can be of no important interest to me. By 
taking care to antedate the season of its rewards and 
punishments, I have already found them in the va- 
ried pleasure and perplexity of its accomplishment, 
I leave it therefore for the service of him who may 
in future desire to read the history of his voice. 
The system here exhibited will satisfy much of his 
curiosity: for I feel assured, by the result of the rigid 
mode of observation employed throughout the in- 
quiry, that if science should ever come to one con- 
sent on this point, it will not differ essentially from 
the ensuing record. The world has long asked for 
light on this subject. It may not choose to accept 
it now : but having idly suffered its own opportu- 
nity for discovery to go by, it must, under any ca- 
pricious postponement, at last receive it here. 

Sir Joshua Reynolds has a pretty thought on the 
labours of ambition and the choice of fame. I do 



INTRODUCTION. xxvii 

not remember his words exactly ; but he figures 
the present age and posterity as rivals : and those 
who receive the favor of the one, as being out- 
casts from the other. This reflection, while it sets 
forth the bright but bounded hopes of a zeal which 
works only for a present reward, does not exclude 
all prospect from those who are contented in the 
anticipation of deferred success. — Truth, whose first » 
steps should be always vigorous and alone, is often 
obliged to lean for support and progress on the arm 
of Time-, who then only, when supporting her, 
seems to have laid aside his wings. 



Philadelphia, January , 1827 



THE 

PHILOSOPHY 

OF 

THE HUMAN VOICE. 

SECTION I. 

Of the general divisions of vocal sound : with a more 
particular account of its jiitch. 

All the varieties of sound in the human voice, 
may»be referred to the following general heads: 

QUALITY, 

FORCE, 

TJMK, 

ABRUPTNESS, 

PITCH. 

The detail of these five accidents, with the mul- 
tiplied combination of their species, includes the 
enumeration of the expressive powers of speech. 

It would be fruitless to attempt to gi^e an ana- 
lytical history of the voice, without the use of defi- 
nite terms for the appreciable varieties of sound. It 
is therefore proper to inquire how far common no- 
menclature realizes the purposes of precision ; and 
by what means any obvious deficiency may be 
supplied. 



SO DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS 

The terms by which the Quality or kind of voice 
is distinguished, are rough, smooth, harsh, full, 
thin, slender, soft, musical, and some others of the 
same metaphorical structure. They are sufficiently 
numerous ; and as descriptive as possible, without 
reference to fixed and exemplar sounds. Some at- 
tempt towards this kind of illustration has been 
made, by variously distinguishing the singing- voice 
according to its resemblance to the sound of the 
reed, the string and the musical glass: The voices 
of inferior animals also afford analogies to the va- 
riety of quality in the human voice. 

For the specifications of Force we use the words 
strong, weak, feeble, loud, soft, forcible, and faint. 
These are indefinite in their indication, and with- 
out any fixed relationship in degree : Music has 
more orderly and numerously distinguished thje va- 
rieties of Force, by its series of terms from Pianis- 
simo to Fortissimo. I shall have occasion hereafter 
to add some terms answerable to new and curious 
distinctions in the modes of applying this accident. 

Time, in the art of speaking, is subdivided into 
long, short, quick, slow and rapid. Music has a more 
precise scale of relationship, in its multiple series 
from semibreve to double-demisemiquaver. The 
single or unaccompanied sound of speech does not 
require that nicety in Time which the concerting 
of music demands; yet there is need of more preci- 
sion in designating its species than the usual terms 
of prosody afford. Mr. Steele has given, in his 
work, a notation of time, sufficient for all the syl- 
labic purposes of discourse. 



DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 31 

I shall hereafter make a division of this accident, 
with reference to English syllables, and to their 
uses in utterance. 

I employ the term Abruptness to signify the 
sudden and full discharge of sound, as contradistin- 
guished from its more gradual emission. This ab- 
ruptness is well represented by the explosive notes 
which may be executed on the bassoon, and some 
other wind instruments. I have given this affection 
of sound a distinct title, because its characteristic 
is peculiar ; and because it is an expressive agent 
among the functions of speech. 

The variations of Pitch are denoted by the words 
rise and fall, high and low. In our introduction I 
gave an opinion on the vague import and the in- 
sufficiency of this division : and as the following his- 
tory of the voice makes especial reference to this 
accident, and gives a minute detail of its varieties, 
it is necessary to adopt a full and more definite no- 
menclature of its degrees. 

It happened well, for bur assistance in develop- 
ing the functions of speech, that the phenomena of 
pitch were long ago observed, analyzed and named 
in the proper science of music. I shall endeavour 
to show that some of the varieties of pitch, employ- 
ed by the speaking voice, are not technically known 
in that science. For these I have made a language. 
But most of the movements of the musical system 
are also found in speech. It is advisable there- 
fore to adopt the musical terms for these identical 
functions ; not only because they are already 
known to many, and may, through elementary 
treatises, be easily learned by all ; but because 



32 DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 

the application of a different nomenclature to the 
same thing, would counteract the great object of 
philosophy ; which is to generalize effects, by ar- 
ranging them under the same classes: notwith- 
standing their different positions in the regions of 
nature and art, might, through the narrow logic of 
habits and forms, seem to call in question their iden- 
tity. I shall therefore aim to give a concise account 
of the language already established in music, with 
a view to its employment in the history of speech. 

The different degrees of Pitch in music are 
marked in what is called the Scale : the formation 
of which may be thus illustrated. 

If, whilst the bow is drawn across a string of 
a violin, the finger be moved with continued pres- 
sure on the string, from its lower attachment to any 
distance upwards, a mewing sound, if I may so 
name it, will be heard ; which, from the momentary 
changes in the ascent of pitch preventing any ap- 
parent break in its line, is called a continuous or 
Concrete sound. 

The sounds of the scale are produced by inter- 
rupting this continuous upward slide, and draw- 
ing the bow whilst the finger is held stationary at 
certain places on the string. By taking seven 
points, according to a given rule of calculation, at 
successively rising intervals, the fixed degrees of 
the musical scale are determined. Other sounds, 
still ascending, may be made by a similar skipping 
progression. But since the second series of seven, 
adjusted by the same rule, bear respectively to the 
first seven, so peculiar a relation as to concord, 
that they may be considered as a kind of re- 



DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 



33 



# 14 



13 



rx 



12 



11 
? 10 
O 9 



petition of the first seven, and may be used accord- 
ingly: and as the same is true of other classes of 
seven, both above and below the first, — 
the whole extent of pitch, from the 
lowest to the highest sounds, may be re- 
ceived as consisting of the simple scale 
of seven sounds, in different ranges of 
pitch. 

I give, in the margin, a diagram of 
the places at which we may suppose the 
string to be pressed. I have marked nu- 
merically, two of the repeated series of 
seven sounds : and have used the initials 
T and S respectively for Tone and Semi- 
tone, to which I shall presently refer. 

Upon comparing this picture with the 
account of the production of the concrete 
sound, it may be understood that some 
of the continuous movement must be lost, 
when the finger skips from place to 
place on the string. The sounds thus 
produced at these points, by intermis- 
sions of the concrete slide, are called 
Discrete Sounds. 

The variation of pitch on most musical 
instruments is made by the discrete pro- 
gression. The violin and its varieties de- 



M 

3 



rive much of their power from a susceptibility of the 
concrete movement : and it is the great source, as 
I shall show hereafter, of Expression in the human 



voice. 



34 DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 

The distance between any two points in this 
scheme, whether proximate or remote, is called an 
Interval. The intervals of the scale in their proxi- 
mate order are measured as follows .* 

The quantity of the concrete omitted between 
the first and second places, here represented in the 
diagram, is called a tone. 

The interval between the second and the third 
is likewise a tone. 

The distance of the third from the fourth place, 
being about half the space of a tone, is called a 
semitone. 

The interval between the fourth and fifth ; fifth 
and sixth 5 sixth and seventh is each a tone — and 
that from the seventh to the eighth, or first of the 
next series of seven, a semitone. 

These eight discrete sounds are generally named 
numerically : except the first, which is called the 
key note; and the eighth, which, when considered 
in relation to the key note of the first scale, is called 
the octave. For otherwise it may itself be consider- 
ed as the key note of the next series. 

The succession of these seven sounds, to which 
the octave is usually added, is called the Natural or 
Diatonic scale. It consists of five tones, and two 

* The well informed reader should regard this general view 
of the scale, as well as the manner of its illustration, with a 
thoughtfulness of my intention. I have omitted the theoretic 
distinction of greater and lesser tone; of diatonic and chroma- 
tic semitone; of the major and minor scales; together with other 
particulars both melodic and harmonic, with a design to notice 
those points only which are preparatory to the description of 
speech. 



DIVISIONS A1ND DEFINITIONS. 35 

semitones: the semitones being the intervals be- 
tween the third and fourth, and the seventh and 
eighth places of the scale. The scale then contains 
the interval of a semitone •, a second or a whole 
tone ; a third, or two whole tones 3 a fourth ; a fifth ; 
sixth ; seventh, and octave. 

The sound heard, when any of the seven places 
of the string is compressed and the bow drawn, is 
called a note. And this is to be distinguished from 
a tone, which is the portion of the concrete either 
heard between two proximate places of a note, or 
omitted therefrom. 

And in like manner, the concrete movement may 
pass between any more remote points : or notes 
may be heard successively at those points with the 
omission of the concrete. If the inconsistency is 
pardonable, we may denominate the former func- 
tions concrete intervals. The latter are properly dis- 
crete intervals. 

The term melody, when defined with reference 
to pitch, and exclusive of time and force and ab- 
ruptness and pause, which go with it in music, 
means a succession of notes in the consecutive as- 
cending or descending order of the scale : the inter- 
val between them being that of a tone or semitone. 
Or melody may consist of a succession of notes, 
taken out of their natural or numerical order ; the 
several intervals being wider portions of the scale. 
The melody of songs and other music is made by 
the above described proximate or skipping transi- 
tion through the scale. 

The several marks at which we have supposed 



36 DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 

the finger to be applied, are called the places, points 
or degrees of the scale ; and thus it is plain that any 
two degrees, points or places, must include one in- 
terval between them. 

In any series of seven notes, as in the first of the 
diagram, let us assume the fifth as the first of a se- 
ries of seven. This assumed scale, when comple- 
ted by its octave, will extend to the place marked 
by the number twelve. Six of the included places 
will have right positions ; and thus far the intervals 
of tone and semitone will have the proper sequence 
of the diatonic scale. But the interval between the 
tenth and eleventh is a semitone; and that between 
the eleventh and twelfth, a tone : whereas by the 
rule of this scale the order should be reversed. 
For the tenth, eleventh and twelfth, marked in the 
diagram, are respectively the sixth, seventh and 
eighth of the series assumed on the fifth. If now 
the interval from eleven to twelve be subdivided 
into two semitones, and if the transit, in ascending, 
be made from the tenth place to the point of divi- 
sion, two semitones, or one whole tone will be 
passed over ; the interval from this middle point to 
the twelfth will be a semitone, and thus the consti- 
tuent intervals of the diatonic scale will be obtained. 

And further, if the fifth in ascent of this new se- 
ries of seven, or the fourth below its first (for these 
positions are analogous) be taken as the first of ano- 
ther series, a like subdivision of a whole tone will 
be necessary to complete this scale : and thus pro- 
gressively, by taking the fifth of the last formed se- 
ries, every place of the scale may become the first 



DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 37 

of a series, and every whole tone of the scale may 
thereby be divided. 

This division of the whole tones produces a se- 
ries of semitones. When therefore the progression 
is made by them, the order of degrees and inter- 
vals is called the Semitonic, or more commonly, the 
Chromatic scale. 

1 he first note of any series or scale, is named 
the key note. The peculiar relationships of this U 
the other notes of the scale are such, that a melody 
or song will appear unfinished if its last sound be 
not the key note of the scale employed. 

Every place of the scale, even when divided 
into twelve degrees by the semitones, may be the 
place of a key note; for by that subdivision of tones, 
the proper succession of the diatonic scale can be 
arranged from any point. 

If a melody is changed from one series with its 
key note, to another series with its key note, the 
process is called modulation, or changing the key. 

The term cadence means the consummation of the 
desire for a full close in the melody, by the resting 
of its last sound in the key note. 

Intonation signifies the performance of the func- 
tions of pitch ; and therefore regards the changes 
of sound between acuteness and gravity, which 
are made either discretely by notes, or concretely 
through the intervals of the scale. The use of 
the voice and the handling of an instrument pro- 
duces true intonation, when the transitions and the 
concrete slides are made with exactness. Devia- 
tion from this precision, is called in common cen- 
sure, playing and singing false. 



38 DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 

The first, third and fifth notes of the diatonic 
scale, to which the octave, as a sort of repetition of 
the first, is usually added, differ from the rest, in 
being more agreeable when heard in combination ; 
and in being more readily hit by an inexperienced 
voice, in an endeavour to pass through the scale. 
The simple instrument called the Jews-harp, and 
many of the horn species, more easily yield these 
notes, under the faltering attempts of a learner. 

In speaking of a concrete sound, I did not call its 
upward and downward progress a scale ; since the 
unbroken line of its movement, as then represent- 
ed, has no analogy with the interrupted steps of a 
discrete succession. Though, with a full under- 
standing of its nature, there can be no objection to 
its being so called. 

Let us then recapitulate the view of those pecu- 
liar movements which constitute the several spe- 
cies of scales. 

The first is the Concrete scale: in which, from the 
outset to the termination of the vocal impulse, there 
is no appreciable intervals, impressive places, rests, 
or any variation except in rise and fall of pitch. 

The second or the Diatonic scale consists of tran- 
sitions from place to place , over intervals of a tone 
and semitone. 

The third or Chromatic uses a discrete movement 
over the interval of a semitone. 

The fourth is made by a transition from place to 
place over intervals much smaller than a semitone 5 
each successive step being a short abrupt emission 
of voice. This description may be illustrated by 



DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 39 

that sound in the throat called gurgling, and. by 
the neighing of a horse. The analogy here regards 
only the rapidity, frequency and abruptness of 
sound ; for the gurgling and neighing may be made 
on a single note, by a quick iteration in the same 
line of pitch. But in the scale now under consi- 
deration, each successive pulse of voice is taken at 
a small interval above the last, till the series reaches 
the octave. We cannot describe the precise ex- 
tent of these small intervals, nor tell the number of 
pulses in given portions of the scale •, since this func- 
tion is executed with a rapidity which eludes discri- 
mination. Nor are these points material now. My 
purpose requires it to be known that the voice does 
rise and fall with short and abrupt sounds, through 
any interval of the diatonic scale, by steps less than 
a semitone. Whether the distance be that elemental 
part of a tone which is called a comma, or some frac- 
tion or multiple of it, I leave to be determined among 
theorists, by other means than by the ear alone. 

Let us call this fourth species of movement, the 
Tremulous Scale. 

For the purpose of explanation, the scales have 
been represented separately, but in the practice of 
the voice, they are variously associated. Thus it is 
easy to comprehend that the voice might move con- 
cretely through a tone, a semitone or other inter- 
val, and yet cease at the respective bounds of these ; 
and subsequently either proceed from these places 
in beginning a new concrete, or assume some other 
point above or below. This would be a blending of 
the concrete with the diatonic and chromatic scales, 



40 DIVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS. 

And it will be readily admitted that the tremulous 
movement may likewise be employed, in the same 
mode of combination. 1 have been thus particular 
in describing these scales, as the speaking voice 
makes use of them all. The concrete is constantly 
found: nor is it absent from any act of the voice. 
And we shall hereafter learn in what manner the 
discrete diatonic and chromatic, and the tremulous 
scales are variously joined with it. 

It would be well for him who is ignorant of the 
musical scale, and desires to follow the analysis in 
this essay, to learn the audible effects of the diatonic 
progression from the voice of some master, or from the 
fixed notes of a well tuned piano. Any little girl 
will point out to him the note called C, on that instru- 
ment 5 and then by practice, in running through the 
seven following white finger keys, he may become 
familiar with the effect of a transition over a semi- 
tone, a tone, a third, fifth, octave and any other inter- 
val within the scale. When he can recognize all the 
points on the discrete scale, he will be able to give 
these various boundaries to his concrete movements. 

I know well how difficult it is, I was about to say 
it is impossible, to render the separated parts of a 
science of intricate detail, clearly intelligible. If 
what is offered in this section, will enable the reader 
to comprehend and bear in mind the nature of the 
four scales, the meaning of the terms, Tone, Semi- 
tone, Octave, Modulation, Note, Interval, Key note, 
Cadence, and Intonation ; and the numerical deno- 
minations of the discrete scale, he will not have much 
difficulty in pursuing our further history of speech. 



SECTION II 



Of the Radical and Vanishing movement of the 
voice, and its different forms in Speech, Song and 
Recitative. 

We have been willing to believe, on faith alone, 
that nature is wise in the contrivance of speech. 
Let us now show, by our works of analysis, how she 
manages the simple elements of the voice, in the 
production of their unbounded combinations. 

When the letter "a,* as heard in the word 
" day," is pronounced simply as an alphabetic ele- 
ment, without intensity or emotion, and with the 
duration which it has in that word, two sounds are 
heard continuously successive. The first has the 
well known characteristic of this letter; and issues 
from the organs with a certain degree of fullness. 
The last isthe element " e,"as heardin " eve," and is 
a gradually diminishing sound. During the pro- 
nunciation, the voice rises by the concrete move- 
ment through the interval of a tone ; the beginning 
of the " a'' and the termination of the u e" beins: 
severally the inferior and superior extremes of that 
tone. This may be proved by any one who is able 
to intonate the discrete diatonic scale. For let him 
commence with " a," in prolonged utterance, and 
strike the points of this scale by the alternate use 
of " a" and " e \* drawing out each as a note, and 

G 



42 OF THE RADICAL AND 

making a palpable pause between the sounds. This 
will make him familiar with the effect of these let- 
ters, when heard on the extremes of a tone. Then 
let him rise concretely through the scale marking 
its several points strongly with the alternate use of 
" a" and " e :" the condition of the movement in 
this case, being that of stress upon a short note set 
in the course of the concrete. This will make him 
familiar with the effect of a concrete rise through 
a tone, when the upper extreme is rendered palpa- 
ble, by a striking degree of force. Now in repeat- 
ing the " a" and the " e," as the two first points of 
the scale, let the stress on the u e" be gradually 
diminished, and he will perceive a return to the 
above described simple pronunciation of e< a," with- 
out losing altogether that perception of the con- 
crete ascent through the tone, which was more dis- 
tinctly recognized under the additional impression 
of stress. 

If there should at any time be a doubt upon the 
extent of the concrete interval, let a degree of stress 
be applied at its summit. If the interval be atone, 
the commencement of the scale will be recognised : 
for with a little experience this can always be 
done, upon the execution of its first and second 
degrees. 

This dipthongal sound of " a " does then in this 
case pass through the concrete interval of a tone ; 
the movement being divided between the sounds of 
" a" and " e," the first gliding imperceptibly into 
the last. But as the question here refers to the in- 
terval traversed, as well as to its concrete progress. 



VANISHING MOVEMENT. 43 

it is necessary to guard against the utterance of the 
literal element with any emotion : for if it be done 
in a plaintive manner, with surprise, interrogation, 
or other sentiments which might be enumerated, 
the concrete will be some other interval than the 
tone ; this tone or interval of the second, being as 
will be shown hereafter, the instinctive mode of 
intonation, by which the mind denotes its simple 
thoughts, exclusively of feeling or passion. 

The peculiar structure of this concrete rise sug- 
gested the division of it, by terms, into two parts ; 
and the use of this division, for explanatory purpo- 
ses in the following history, will show its propriety. 
I have called the first portion of this concrete 
sound, or that of " a" in the above instance, the 
Radical movement; because, with a full beginning 
or opening on some given place of the scale, the 
following portion of the concrete rises from it as 
from a base or root. 

I have called this following portion, or the " e" 
in the above example, the Vanishing movement, 
from its becoming gradually weaker as it rises, and 
finally dying away in the upper extreme of the 
tone. 

It must strike the reader that this distinction can 
have only a general reference to the two extremes 
of the movement, since their continuous and im- 
perceptible junction, hides a middle or any other 
point of demarkation between them. 

When a single alphabetic sound, capable of pro- 
longation, is uttered with propriety and smooth- 
ness, and without emotion, it commences full and 



14 OF THE RADICAL AND 

somewhat abruptly, and gradually decreases in its 
upward movement : having the increments of time, 
and rise, and the decrements of fullness, equably 
progressive. That is, supposing a gradual diminu- 
tion of fullness of voice in its gradual rise through 
a tone, to be effected in a given time — one half or 
smaller fraction of that rise and diminution will be 
accomplished in one half or smaller fraction of that 
time. 

The different functions of the voice in recitative 
and song, of which I shall speak more in detail 
hereafter, will, by their varied construction, help to 
illustrate the nature of this equability in the pro- 
gress of the rising movements of speech. 

The syllabic voice of Recitative is made by de- 
viating from the rule of this equable rise, in giving 
the greater proportion of the time and fulness of 
utterance, to a level line of sound, if I may so call 
it, or a note, in the radical place ; and by passing 
through the vanishing extreme with a short, rapid, 
and faintly perceptible movement. 

The syllabic voice of Song, on the contrary, con- 
sists in passing quickly and faintly through the ra- 
dical movement ; and dwelling with greater time 
and fullness on a note or level line of sound, at the 
extreme place of the vanish. 

As far as regards intonation, there are but these 
three modifications of the radical and vanishing 
movement — the equable concrete properly belong- 
ing to speech, the note of song, and of recitative. 
But we shall have occasion to learn, as we proceed, 
the various relationships of the concrete, to all the 



VANISHING MOVEMENT. 45 

simple and compounded intervals, to the alphabetic 
elements, to time and to force. 

I have spoken of the radical and vanishing move- 
ment through a tone, with a view to explain by that 
interval, the nature of the concrete rise, and its di- 
vision into the parts which have been named. But 
in taking a wider survey of this subject, we shall 
learn, that this function, with all its properties, is 
performed on every other interval of the scale. 

Recurring to the former example, if we ascend 
concretely to the octave by the alternate use of u a" 
and " e" this continuous movement between the two 
last places, or from the seventh to the eighth, will 
produce a different effect from that between the 
first and second, or the tone. The voice will have a 
plaintive character. Now the interval from the se- 
venth to the eighth place of the diatonic scale, is a 
semitone. This plaintive concrete rise is then the 
radical and vanishing movement through a semi- 
tone. By a process analogous to that proposed for 
distinguishing the interval of the tone and semitone, 
it may be ascertained that the voice employs a simi- 
lar mode of progression through other intervals : 
thereby proving the existence of a rising, radical 
and vanishing semitone — tone, or second — third — 
fifth — and octave. But these intervals have their 
proper significations in the expression of speech, 
and will be particularly noticed elsewhere. I say 
nothing here of a radical and vanishing fourth — 
sixth — and seventh ; nor of higher ranges than the 
octave-, not because the voice does not perform 
these intervals, but because a reference to the 



46 OF THE RADICAL AND 

above named points, is sufficiently precise for the 
purposes of our history. 

Let us consider another condition of the radical 
and vanishing movement. We have viewed the 
concrete affection of the voice only in its rising pro- 
gress. There is a similar glide in a downward direc- 
tion through all the intervals of the scale. Refer- 
ing to the mode of illustration formerly proposed, 
if the bow be drawn whilst the finger is moving con- 
tinually from the eighth place on the string to the 
first, it will produce the concrete descending sound 
of the octave. And in like manner by taking other 
parts of the scale as the commencement of a de- 
scending course, all the other downward intervals 
may be made. The trial by the voice will exhibit 
a similar downward continuous sound : for after as- 
cending the diatonic scale by the dipthongal con- 
crete of " a" and " e," if we descend by the alter- 
nate use of these sounds, beginning with " a" on 
the eighth place, we shall hear the continuous move- 
ment between all the points of the downward scale. 
In the first interval of the descending series, we 
have the concrete downward semitone ; and in the 
last the tone. And in like manner, by a previous 
rise to the place of a third, fifth and octave, and a 
consequent descent, we may prove the existence of 
a downward radical and vanishing third — fifth — 
and octave. 

Now if this simple phrase " farewell a" be utter- 
ed without emotion, and with a complete fall of the 
voice, as if it were the close of a sentence, the down- 
ward concrete tone will be heard on " a'' with all 



VANISHING MOVEMENT. 47 

theproperties which belong to the radical and van- 
ishing movement, in the rising direction : with this 
difference, that the radical, if I may now so call it, 
is at the summit of the tone ; whilst the vanish flows 
dwindling from it to the lower extreme of this in- 
terval j the " e" faintly subsiding there. 

He who is acquainted with the musical scale, but 
who has not yet looked upon it in reference to 
speech, may ascertain the upward intonation of the 
tone and semitone, when made upon any vowel 
sound, by a comparison of their effects with the be- 
ginning and the end of the rising order of the scale. 
And in like manner, he may know the downward 
courses of the semitone and tone, by comparing 
them respectively with the beginning and end of 
the descending scale. Every one knows a plaintive 
expression in speech •, therefore it is easy to discri- 
minate a semitone : for this expression is made by 
no other interval. And I have full confidence in 
asserting, that before the reader has finished this 
essay, he will have no more difficulty in recogniz- 
ing every other important interval of the rising and 
falling movement. 

As the concrete rise of the voice is more gener- 
ally used in speech, than the downward course, I 
shall, in noticing intervals, employ the term radi- 
cal and vanishing movement, without specifying its 
rise, to signify the former ; and shall particularize 
the latter, by annexing the term of its direction. 
In designating the concrete function, I shall vari- 
ously denominate it, the radical and vanishing 
movement, — progress, — interval, — or pitch ; or 



48 OF THE RADICAL AND 

simply the radical and vanish, — or the concrete ; or 
the radical and vanishing tone, — semitone, — third, 
— fifth, — and octave, according to the general or 
specific intention. 

I have thus endeavoured to describe one of the 
roost important functions of speech. There is a pe- 
culiarity in the intonation of the human voice, which 
has never been copied by instrumental contrivance. 
The sounds of the horn, flute, reed, and musical 
glass, may each resemble many of the qualities of a 
long drawn vocal note ; but there is still something 
absent, that designates them as instruments. It is 
the want of the gliding concrete, the lessening vo- 
lume, and the soft extinction of the yet inimitable 
vanishing movement. 

The illustration by a diagram may perhaps faci- 
litate the comprehension of the foregoing descrip- 
tions. For this purpose I use below certain parts of 
the musical notation. The lines and spaces denote 
places of pitch ; the proximate succession being that 
of a tone. These lines and spaces differ from the 
five lines and four spaces of the musical system : 
the latter being founded on the diatonic scale, de- 
note, in certain places, the interval of a semitone ; 
whereas the lines and spaces of the notation for 
speech signify always, the succession of a tone, ex- 
cept when otherwise specified. The full black 
marks on these lines and spaces, with their issuing 
appendages of various extent, represent the open- 
ing fullness, direction, interval and decrease of the 
radical and vanishing movement. The whole of 
this notation being mere metaphor, there is no 



VANISHING MOVEMENT. 



49 



meaning in the curve given to the sign of the van- 
ish. In that I have consulted only the eye. Time 
is here represented as in music: the open ellipse 
signifying the longest •, the black head with a stem, 
half of it; this head with its stem marked at the ex- 
tremity by one, two, and three hooks, each succes- 
sively the half, fourth, and eighth of the head and 
simple stem. — Except for song and recitative, it is 
not my intention to use the notation of time, in this 
essay. The subject of time has been well analyzed, 
and clearly arranged in music, and the application 
of its well contrived symbols to speech, when de- 
sirable, will require neither wit nor labour. 



- - 
V O 



8** 



© 

it 

O 



* mi 

c •- 

a 



l/l* Irf H 






04 



o . 
o be 

1 i 



2^ 



is 



c w 



c a 



m 



p£3=i 



I have not represented the semitone, since its 
mode may be easily understood from the picture 
of the other intervals. The circumstances of its no- 
tation will be considered in a future section. 

The reader must not be discouraged by the 
seeming difficulty of the foregoing distinctions. I 
have here laid down, as a didactic rule, the very 



50 RADICAL AND VANISHING MOVEMENT. 

train by which these phenomena were discovered. 
They were not seen at a glance. The first views 
were full of indistinctness and doubt, greater per- 
haps than a quick student may experience from the 
descriptions -in this section : yet I can declare that 
now after three years, the functions here explained, 
are much more perceptible to me, than the varie- 
ties of color without direct comparison ; and quite 
as .distinct as the literal and syllabic sounds of dis- 
course. 



SECTION III. 



Of the elementary sounds of the English language ; 
with their 
movement. 



with their relations to the radical and vanishing 



The radical and vanishing concrete, under all 
its forms, is employed on a limited number of 
sounds, which in the English language amount to 
thirty-five. The deficiencies, redundancies and 
confusion of the system of alphabetic characters in 
this language, prevents the adoption of its subdivi- 
sions in this essay. 

An alphabet should consist of a separate symbol 
for every elementary sound : and it appears to me 
that the best arrangement of the elements, would 
be that which regards their use in discburse. It will 
not be denied that intonation is one of the most 
important functions of speech : consequently the 
ordering of the elements should have some refer- 
ence to it. In the present section therefore, these 
elements will be described and classed according to 
their use in intonation.* 

* I set aside, in this place at least, the sacred division into 
vowels, consonants, mutes and semivowels. The complete history 
of nature will consist of a full description of all the relationships 
of things. We received the classification of the alphabet from 



52 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

As the number of elementary sounds in the En- 
glish language exceeds the literal signs, some of 
the letters are made to represent various sounds, 
without a rule for discrimination. I shall endeavour 

Greek and Roman grammarians: and their division, according 
to organic causes, into labial, lingual, dental and nasal elements, 
is to be regarded as a legitimate part of that history. But what- 
ever reason, springing from the vocal habits of another nation, or 
the etymologies of another tongue, may have justified the divi- 
sion into vowels and consonants, it is now in a great measure 
lost. Without designing to overlook or destroy any arrangement 
which truly represents the relationships of these sounds, it is 
only intended to add to their history, a classification grounded 
on their important functions in speech. The strictness of philo- 
sophy should not be so far forgotten, as to suffer the claim of 
this classification to be exclusive. Let it remain as a constituent 
portion only of new and wider prospects, yet to be opened in the 
art. 

Passing by other assailable points of our immemorial system, 
the distinction, implied by its two leading heads, is a misrepre- 
sentation. Had he an ear who said — a consonant can not be 
sounded without the help of a vowel? 

Among the thousand mismanagements of literary instruction^ 
there is at the outset in the horn book, the pretence to repre- 
sent elementary sounds by syllables composed of two or more 
feiements, as : Be, Kay, Zed, double U, and Aitch. These words 
are used in infancy, and through life, as simple elements in the 
process of synthetic spelling. If the definition of a consonant 
was made by the master. from the practice of the child, it might 
suggest pity for the pedagogue, but should not make us forget 
the realities of nature. 

Any pronouncing dictionary shows that consonants alone may 
form syllables: and if they have never been appropriated to 
words which might stand solitary in a sentence like the vowels 
" a," " i," " o," "ah" and "awe" — it is not because they cannot 
be so used ; but because they have not that full and manageable 
nature which exhibits the functions of the unconnected syllable 
with sufficient emphasis, and with agreeable effect. 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 5$ 

to supply this want of precision by using short 
words of known pronunciation, containing the ele- 
mentary sounds, with the letters which represent 
them marked in italics. 

The thirty-five elements will now be considered 
under their relationships to the radical and vanish- 
ing movement. And as the properties of this func- 
tion are— prolongation of sound, variation of pitch, 
with initial force and final feebleness; these ele- 
ments should be viewed in their varied capacity 
for admitting the display of these properties. 

Our elements of articulation may be arranged 
under three general heads. 

The first division embraces those sounds which 
display the properties of the radical and vanish in 
the most perfect manner. They are twelve in 
number ; and are heard in the usual sound of the 
separated italics, in the following words: 

^-11, a-rt, a-n, ale, ou-r, isle, o-ld, eel, oo-ze, 
e-rr, e-nd, ?-n. 

From their being the purest and most plastic 
agent in intonation, I have called them Tonic sounds. 

They consist of different sorts of vocality ; by 
which I mean that ' raucus '' quality of voice which 
is contradistinguished from a whisper or aspiration. 
They are produced by the joint functions of the 
larynx and parts of the internal and external mouth, 
through which the air must pass in their formation. 

The tonics have a more musical quality than the 
other elements : they are capable of indefinite pro- 
longation : they admit of the concrete and tremu- 
lous rise and fall through all the intervals of pitch : 



54 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

they may be uttered more forcibly than the other 
elementary sounds, as well as with more abrupt- 
ness : and whilst, by these two last qualities, they 
hold the power of forming the fulness and stress 
of the radical, they are not without the means of 
going through the delicate feebleness of the va- 
nishing movement. 

The next division includes a number of sounds, 
possessing variously among themselves properties 
analogous to those of the tonics ; but differing in de- 
gree. They amount to fourteen ; and are marked 
by the separated italics, in the following words : 

I?-ow, dare, g-ive, v-ile, 2>one, ye, w-o, th-en, 
a-£-ure, si-ng, Z-ove, m-ay, ra-ot, r-oe. 

From their inferiority in all the emphatic and 
elegant purposes of speech, whilst they admit of 
being intonated or carried concretely through the 
intervals of pitch, I have called them Subtonic 
sounds. 

They all have a vocality ; but in some it is com- 
bined with an aspiration. 2?, d, g, wg, Z, tit, n, r, 
have an unmixed vocality ; v, z, y, w, th, 2Y1, have 
an aspiration joined with theirs. We have learned 
that the vocality of the tonics is, in each, pecu- 
liar in sort. The vocalitv of some of the subto- 
nics is apparently the same 5 and among all, it does 
not differ much ; resembling certain five of the to- 
nics, which will be designated presently. Like the 
vocality of the tonics, it is formed in the larynx : 
but instead of passing altogether through the mouth, 
it has its reverberations, in the back of the mouth, 
and the cavities of the nose. Some of the subtonic 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 55 

vocalities are purely nasal* as : m, n, rig, fc, d, g. 
The rest are partly oral. The nasal are soon si- 
lenced by closing the nostrils : the rest are not ma- 
terially affected by it. The vocal ity of 6, d and g 
may not be immediately apparent to those who 
have not, by practice in the abstract utterance of 
the alphabet, attained the full command of pronun- 
ciation. Writers, in noticing these letters, have 
spoken of it under the name of" guttural murmur/' 
and have regarded it as a peculiar sound ; whereas it 
is the identical vocality, heard in v, then, z, zh, and 
r, but modified by the contact of organs, into the re- 
spective individuality of each of them. The vocality 
of 6, d and g, in ordinary speech, has less time and 
intensity, and is consequently less perceptible than 
that of v, //i-en, z, zk and r, but it is the same in 
kind. It is the vocality alone of b that distinguishes 
it from p. 

I have enumerated y and 10 as the initial sounds 
of " ye" and " wo,'' because " ye" is a vocality, like 
that of the other subtonics, mixed with an aspira- 
tion made over the tongue, when raised near the 
roof of the mouth: and because u w" is a similar vo- 
cality mixed with a breathing through an aperture 
in the protruded lips. As 6, d y g and zh are 
made by joining vocalities, instead of aspirations, 
with the organic positions of p, /, k and sh 5 so y and 
w are severally the mixture of vocality with the 
pure aspiration of "h" as heard in "he," and of "wh" 
as heard in " whirl'd," The addition to the aspiration 
changes these words respectively to " ye" and 
"world." 



56 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

This vocality of the subtonics, whether pure or 
mixed, nasal or oral, is variously modified by the 
nose, tongue, teeth and lips. For, an entire or par- 
tial obstruction of the current of breath through the 
mouth, and a subsequent removal of the obstruc- 
tion, produces the peculiar sound of the subtonics. 
Now it is in the portion of the subtonic sound, 
heard after the restoration of the free passage 
through the mouth, that the character of the voca- 
lity, in some of these elements, may be most easily 
perceived. This vocula or little voice, if I may so 
call it, is mentioned by writers as being necessary 
to complete the utterance of the class of mutes, so 
named : but it may be heard more or less conspicu- 
ously at the termination of all the subtonics. It is 
least perceptible in those which have the most as- 
piration. In ordinary utterance it is short and fee- 
ble ; and is most obvious when employed in forci- 
ble or affected pronunciation. When the subtonics 
precede the tonics in words, they lose this short 
and feeble termination, and take in its place the full 
sound of the succeeding tonic, thus producing an 
abrupt opening of the tonic. 

I have called this last vented sound of the sub- 
tonics the Vocule •, and have been thus particular 
in noticing and naming it, because I shall hereafter 
use the term and consider the power of the func- 
tion, in treating of the expression of the voice. 

The five tonic sounds to which the vocalities of 
the subtonics bear a resemblance, areec-1, oo-ze,e-rr, 
6-nd, in. F-e and w-o have respectively something 
like a nasal echo of ee-1 and oo-ze. J5, d t g> v, th~en, 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 57 

*, th and r resemble err j J, ra, and n have some- 
thing of the sound of e-nd 5 and n-g, of i-n. 

I said the subtonics are subordinate to the tonics 
in their properties and uses. The kind of sound is 
less agreeable. That clearness and brilliancy of 
the tonics, is obscured in the purest of them, and in 
some it is destroyed by the aspiration. They are 
severally capable of more or less prolongation, and 
may be carried through the concrete and tremu- 
lous variation of pitch. None admit of much force 
in their vocality; nor can abruptness be given to 
them without extraordinary effort. Now these last 
named insufficiencies prevent the subtonics from 
forming, like the tonics, the proper radical move- 
ment : the characteristic of which consists in its 
opening with fulness and abruptness. When there- 
fore a subtonic precedes a tonic, as in the syllable 
11 vain," the vocality of " v" compared with " a" is 
so feeble, that upon a common effort of utterance, 
it does not exhibit the strong and abrupt opening 
of the radical function. It does indeed make part 
of the syllable, but to whatever degree it may be 
prolonged, it still continues on one line of pitch 
until the tonic " a r ' opens and rises with the true 
character of the radical. I do not say, the sub- 
tonics cannot form radicals, for all of them, when 
separately uttered, may be carried in the concrete 
movement, through every interval; and even in 
conjunction with tonics, a strenuous effort may give 
them somewhat of the radical abruptness. But in 
ordinary pronunciation, they are not appreciated as 
a part of the initial concrete. 



58 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

This want of force and abruptness in a subtonic 
does not prevent it from fulfilling the purpose of the 
vanish, when it succeeds a tonic. Thus in the syl- 
lable " vain, 5 ' the " a," as we have said, begins the 
radical, and after rising through a portion of the in- 
terval, glides into the subtonic " n," which carries 
on and completes the vanishing rise. 

The remaining nine elements are Aspirations, and 
have not that sort of sound which I have called vo- 
cality. They are produced by a ^current of the 
whispering breath through certain positions of parts, 
in the internal and external mouth. They are heard* 
in the words, 
U-p, ou4, ar-fc, i-/, ye-s, 7i-e, ic/i-eat, th-in, pu-s/i. 
From their limited power of variation in pitch, 
even when uttered singly, with the designed effort 
to produce it, and from their supplying no part of 
the concrete when breathed among the constituents 
of syllables, I have called them Atonic sounds. 

If any one will take the trouble to compare the 
mode of their production with that of some of the 
subtonics, he will find them respectively identical 
in all their accidents, except that of vocality, which 
is wanting in the atonies. — 
B. D. G. V. Z. Y. W. Th. Zh. Ng. L. M. N. R 

I I I I I I I I I 
P. T. K. F. S. H. Wh. Th. Sh. 

This whispering imitation is not made on all the 
subtonics. Yet the five exceptions do not alto- 
gether destroy the idea, that nature has her nism 
towards a general rule of duplicature in these crea- 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 59 

tions. The m, n, and ng are purely nasal, and when 
their vocality is dropped, the attempt to utter them, 
by the mere breathing of the atonies, produces in 
each case similar snuffling expirations. Yet even this 
snuffling, though no reputed element of speech, is 
constantly used before the vocality of n or m or 
ng, as the inarticulate symbol of a sneer. The two 
remaining subtonics I and r, in perfect English 
speech, are unmatched by atonies. But the aspi- 
rated copy of the I, produced by a kind of hissing 
over the moisture of the tongue, is not a very un- 
common deformity of utterance : and a true atonic 
parallel to the r, heard in what is called "the 
burr," is perhaps a still more prevalent defect of 
utterance* 

The atonies, from the deficiency which suggested 
their name, afford no basis for the function of the ra- 
dical and vanish. Most of them have a perceptible 
vocule, which consists in a short aspiration like the 
whispering of e-rr. There is no musical quality in 
their sound. They do furnish time to speech, but 
on a wretched material. Though inferior in most 
of their qualities to the other elements, I shall show 
in treating of the expression of speech, that the as- 
piration is both significative, and emphatic. 

The enumeration made under the preceding di- 
visions, includes all the elementary sounds of the 
English language, which have been noticed by 
authors. 

* Bishop Wilkins, in his " essay towards a real character," 
has enumerated the aspirated I and r among the provincial 
vices of speech, and has allotted literal symbols to them. 



60 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

There are three of the subtonics and three of 
the atonies &, d, g, p, /, and ft, that have eminent- 
ly an explosive character; the breath bursting out 
after a complete occlusion. 

From their serving peculiar purposes in speech, 
I have set them in a selected subdivision, and called 
them Abrupt sounds. 

In the beginning of a syllable they produce a 
sudden opening of the succeeding sound*, and at 
the end, they exhibit their final vocule. The office 
of these abrupt elements, in the art of speaking, 
will be shown in treating of expression. 

The foregoing arrangement of elementary sounds 
was devised to display their relationships to intona- 
tion. For a closer view of this subject, I shall de- 
scribe particularly the structure and functions of 
the tonics. This detail was separated from the 
general view, in order to avoid distracting the rea- 
der's attention from the drift of that classification, 
by the interesting development which has been 
defer ed to this place. 

In illustrating the terms radical and vanishing 
movement, by the tonic a-le, it was stated that two 
sorts of sound are heard in the utterance of that 
element: that in plain unimpassioned effort, the 
voice rises through the interval of a tone; the radi- 
cal beginning on " a,'' and the vanish diminishing 
to a close on " e." Now as all the tonic sounds 
necessarily pass through the radical and vanish, 
they demand an analysis relatively to that concrete 
function of pitch. 

These seven of the tonic elements, 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. Q\ 

a-we, a-rt, an, a-le, isle, o-ld, our, 
have different sounds for the two extremes of their 
intervals. 

The remaining five, 

ee-1, oo-ze, e-rr, e-nd, i-n, 
have each, one continued sound throughout their 
concrete movement. 

The tonics are therefore properly divided into 
Diphthongs and Monothongs. 

Jl-we has for its radical, the peculiar sound of 
•? a" in awe: and for its vanish, a short and obscure 
sound of the monothong e-rr. 

*#-rt has for its radical the whole of the sound of 
"a'' iu art. Its vanish like that of the preceding, 
being the same short and obscure sound of the mo- 
nothong e-rr. 

The radical function of a-n is the sound of '•' a," 
heretofore considered as homogeneous in a-n. Its 
vanish is the same in degree and sort with the last 

Jl\e, I have said before, has its peculiar radical; 
with the long and distinct sound of the monothong 
ee-1 lor its vanishing movement. 

7-sle has its radical of the peculiar sound first 
heard in the utterance of this letter, followed by a 
vanish of the long and distinct monothong ee-1. The 
diphthongal nature of" i" has long been known, and 
the discovery of it is attributed to Wallis the gram- 
marian. It is described by Sheridan and others, as 
consisting of a-we and ee-1: the coalescence of the 
two producing the peculiar sound of " i." In this 
account, it is admitted that the element is peculiar ; 
I can therefore see no need of reference to a-we, in 



62 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

the theory of its causation. A skilful ear will readily 
perceive that the radical of i-sle is a peculiar tonic, 
and will so report thereon, without having recourse 
to the absurd supposition that an unheard sound is 
changed into another audible one. 

O-ld has its radical in the sound of o formerly sup- 
posed to be homogeneous. Its vanish is the distinct- 
ly audible sound of the monothong oo-ze. 

Ou-v has a peculiar radical, and like that of the 
preceding ; and vanishes in the monothong oo-ze. 
That the first sound of this diphthongal tonic is 
not " a-we," but a radical of its own, may easily be 
proved by a discriminating ear, in pronunciation. 
It will also be shown thereby, that a-we does not 
unite with oo-ze, by that easy gliding transition 
which is heard in the junction of the radical of ou-r 
with the same oo-ze. 

I have been at a loss what to say of that sound 
which is signified by " oi" and " oy," as in "voice" 
and " boy." It may be looked upon as diphthongal 
tonic, consisting of the radical a-we and the vanish- 
ing monothong i-n, when the quantity of the element 
is short, and ee-\ when long. But from the habits 
of the voice, it is difficult to give a-we without add- 
ing its usual vanish of e-rr; and this makes the com- 
pound, a tripthong. If it is taken as a diphthongal 
tonic, this is the only instance in which the same 
radical has two different vanishes. And though this 
reason should not be conclusive against its classifi- 
cation, it suggests an examination of the subject. 
In case this sound should be considered as a true 
diphthongal tonic, and analogies seem in favor of it, 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 63 

it would make the number of tonics thirteen, and 
the whole of the elements thirty-six. 

The seven radical sounds with their vanishes, 
which have been described, include, as far as I can 
perceive, all the elementary diphthongs of the En- 
glish language. By the term diphthong, I mean the 
progress of the voice from one tonic sound to ano- 
ther-, forming thus the impulse of one syllable, by 
a continuous gliding, without a perceptible change 
of organic effort, in the transition. By the term 
elementary, as qualifying a diphthong, I mean to 
point out the inseparable bond of its constituents j 
the fate of the voice having so decreed the series 
of the two sounds, that the first or radical cannot, 
in unpremeditated utterance, be given without 
terminating in the second or vanish. 

The remaining five tonics are monothongs, and 
have one sort of sound for both the radical and va- 
nishing movement. They are 

oo-ze, eel, e-rr, end, t-n. 

If the element ee-1 be deliberately uttered, in 
the mode employed in asking a question with ear- 
nest surprise, one unvaried sound of ee-1, will be 
heard, rising from the radical outset, to the top of 
the vanish. This concrete rise in interrogation will 
be described hereafter, as being the interval of a 
radical and vanishing octave; but the same homoge- 
neous course of ee-1 may be heard through the fifth, 
third, tone and semitone. This mode of displaying 
the course of the unchanged concrete in ee-1, will 
show an analogous result in the cases of the four 
other monothongal tonics. Now let each of the diph- 






64 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

thongal tonics be uttered with the interrogative in- 
tonation, and the difference between their radical 
and vanishing portions will be manifest. 

If the means of direct observation here suggest- 
ed, should not be satisfactory, I would propose ano- 
ther mode of illustrating the nature of the tonics. 
We learned in the last section that the distinction 
between speech, song and recitative, consists in the 
varied movement of the radical and vanish : that in 
speech the rise of the voice through an interval is 
equable : that song has the inequality of a length- 
ened note, at the top of the vanish : recitative hav- 
ing, reversely, a lengthened note in the radical 
place. The use of these two last forms of intona- 
tion will exhibit the structure of the tonic elements. 
For an attentive ear may perceive, when the diph- 
thongs are sung, that the voice quickly leaves the 
radical, and dwells in continuation on the different 
sound of the vanish. The protracted note of song, 
in the vanish of the monothongs. will be the same in 
sound as their radicals. Recitative in its essential 
manner, will make a long note of the radical por- 
tion of the diphthongs. The words of an ordinary 
melody in slow time, or any church psalm, will 
afford proof on this point. In giving the note of 
song on the tonics, care must be taken to sound it 
purely : some singers mix the modes of song and 
recitative. 

Another mode of illustrating the real diphthongal 
character of seven of the tonics, may be drawn from 
the phenomena of rhyme. Rhyme is that peculiar 
relationship in the sound of syllables, which con- 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. (35 

sists in a difference between the first sound of each 
of the compared syllables, and an identity between 
all the subsequent sounds, each to each : the agree- 
able effect of rhyme depending chiefly on the par- 
ticular relation between the tonic sounds of the 
syllables. The first condition is that of identity in 
the tonics, as : dame, came. — The second degree of 
relationship is made by tonics which have a differ- 
ent radical, but the same vanishing movement, as : 
cars, wars. The third consists of those tonics that 
differ both in their radicals and vanishes, yet are of 
nearest resemblance in their sort of sound, as : good, 
blood. 

The use of the second kind of rhymes shows the 
composition of the diphthongal tonics. In the follow- 
ing lines, the correspondence of ooze with o-ld, and 
of ale with ee-\ is admitted as canonical in rhym- 
ing, from the identity of the vanishes of a-le and o-ld, 
respectively with the 'monothongs ee-\ and oo-ze. 

Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom 
Of foreign tyrants, and of nymphs at home; 
Here thou, great Anna ! whom three realms obey, 
Dost sometimes counsel take — and sometimes tea. 

The assimilation of the sounds of a-le and ee-\ 
by the identity of their vanishes, produces the mo- 
notony of the four following lines : the compared 
couplets of which are more varied to the eye than 
to the ear. 

Swift to the Lock a thousand sprites repair, 
A thousand wings, by turns, blow back the hair; 
And thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear; 
Thrice she looked back, and thrice the foe drew near. 

K 



(J(5 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

They might indeed be taken for a designed quat- 
ernion in rhyme. 

Besides the differences of sort and singleness of 
sound, and of diphthongal combination, the tonics 
exhibit a variety in time, both when uttered sepa- 
rately, and in syllabic association. Two general 
divisions may be made : 

a-we, art, a-n, a-le, ee-1, i-sle, ou-r, oo-ze 
may be called long tonics, and 

e-rr, e-nd, i-n, 
short. It is not to be understood that the latter may 
not, by designed effort, be made as long as the for- 
mer: they have their place in this arrangement, 
from their usual time in English syllables. In the 
prolongation of t-n, it changes nearly, if not entirely, 
into ee-l. When the long tonics are combined with 
other elements into syllables, their time is of every 
distinguishable degree, from a momentary impulse, 
to the longest passionate utterance of an interjec- 
tion, as : from o-tt to awe — from out to h-ow — 
from at to a-h ! — a-te to h-ay — p-ea-t to ee-l — 
f-oo-t to oo-ze — c-a-rt to p-a-rdon — k-i-te to I. 

The time of the short tonics, in combination, has 
much less variety j and even that is of no practical 
importance. But however short any of the tonics 
may be, they do in their minimum duration still 
pass through the concrete movement, as will be 
fairly proved hereafter. 

All the elements, except the abrupt atonies k, p, 
t, have a variety in duration. ' The vocality of the 
subtonics carries on their time, and its prolongation 
is next in importance to that of the tonics, for the pur- 



ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS, (57 

poses of just and vivid expression, and even for the 
graceful management of ordinary cadences. If it is 
asked, why I have designated the diphthongs as ele- 
mentary, each of which may be resolved into greater 
simplicity; it may be answered, that the diphthongs, 
though compounded of two successive sounds, are 
inseparable in utterance : and regarding elements 
as simple efforts of the voice, these diphthongs may 
be ranked among them. I cannot pronounce the ra- 
dical of a diphthong without giving also its vanish. 
In recitative, the radical of a diphthong may be in- 
definitely sustained ; but it can be terminated only 
by a glide through its second sound, which, however 
quick or feeble, may still be heard. In the equable 
concrete of speech, the rapid pronunciation of a 
diphthong may diminish the audibility of its second 
sound, but to an attentive ear it will not be altoge- 
ther lost. And further, not only does the radical of 
a diphthong demand its own peculiar vanish, but it 
cannot itself be carried through a given interval 
without sliding into that vanish. For when we at- 
tempt to lead the voice through an octave on the 
diphthong a-we or ale, its radical may be continued 
up to the seventh of the scale : still the final close 
on the eighth will unavoidably turn to c-rr or ee-1. 
A similar change will take place on all smaller in- 
tervals, in an endeavour to make monothongs of 
the diphthongal radicals. 

If an elementary character be denied to the diph- 
thongs, by regarding them as separable sounds, it 
will not increase the number of simple tonics be- 
yond twelve: for the reader may have already re- 



qq ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

marked that the vanishing movements of the diph- 
thongs consist exclusively of the monothongs. 

It follows, from what has been said on the indi- 
visible nature of the diphthongs, that their radicals 
cannot be united with any other vanishes, than 
those apparently allotted in the instinctive ordina- 
tion of the voice : and notwithstanding all that has 
been observed, assumed and transcribed by writers, 
on the subject of the diphthongal union of the vowels, 
I believe that the only instances of that union, ad- 
mitted in the habits of English speech, are those 
here enumerated. Every attempt to make further 
combinations produces a voice which wants the 
smooth transition and singleness of syllabic impulse, 
that characterizes a diphthong, and which is found 
with its defined perfection, only in the double sound 
of the above named seven elementary tonics. 

I have enumerated all the diphthongal tonics which 
are in common use in the English language. As they 
are individually produced by joining a monothongto 
a radical tonic, if I may so call it; and as all the per- 
mutations of union are not employed, it is a curious 
subject of inquiry, whether it is within the possi- 
bilities of the tongue to make a greater number of 
diphthongs, by uniting, severally, every monothong 
with each radical tonic. Now as there are seven 
radicals and five monothongs, we might upon this 
scheme have thirty-five diphthongs. But it appears 
we have only eight (supposing oi to be included :) 
a- we being combinable with two monothongs, and 
each of the others with one. Other conjunctions 
may be made ; but they have not a fluent transition, 






ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 69 

like those which already belong to the language 
and have their literal signs. Would these new asso- 
ciations require a management of organ which is 
not altogether instinctive, and might therefore call 
for a practice and skill not yet reached by the 
English tongue? Have any of these supposed diph- 
thongs been admitted among the elements of other 
nations? And are these unused materials of the 
voice to be classed with those resources in the ani- 
mal economy, which are to afford their benefits 
under higher cultivation, and the widening demands 
of human improvement? 

In elucidating this subject of the tonics it is wor- 
thy of remark, that we may consider the diphthongs 
as mere syllables, compounded of a tonic and sub- 
tonic. For it is certain that the monothongs, when 
used as vanishes to the radical tonics, have in some 
degree the character of subtonics : that is, they lose 
the fulness of the radical opening which they have, 
when uttered by themselves. The vanish of a-le is 
very nearly allied to " y" if not identical with it ; and 
the vanish of ou-r bears as near a relation to u w." 
It will be evident too on trial, that if a radical cha- 
racter is given to these vanishes, they will not unite 
with the previous radical into one impulse of the 
voice. 

It was said, in a former part of this section, that 
the subtonics may be uttered separately : their own 
obscure vocalities bearing, respectively, some re- 
semblance to those of the five monothongs. I now 
add that some syllables are formed exclusively of 
subtonics. In the words" bidden," " fickle,'' " schism," 



70 ALPHABETIC ELEMENTS. 

" rhythm," " riven," and their congeners, the last 
syllable is purely subtonic, or a combination of 
subtonic and atonic. On these final syllables the 
radical and vanishing movement is performed : and 
though they exhibit the concrete function, they be- 
tray their inferiority in abruptness, force and mu- 
sical sound, when compared with the more perfect 
display of these qualities, on the tonics. The rea- 
son why words of this construction are necessarily 
divided into two syllables, will appear in the fol- 
lowing section. 



SECTION IV. 



Of the influence of the concrete movement, in the pro- 
duction of the various phenomena of syllables. 

The foregoing history of elementary sounds and 
of the radical and vanishing function, will enable us 
to lay open the doctrine of Syllabication. 

What are the qualities of vocal sound that pro- 
duce the affections of syllables'? 
What determines their length? 
Why are syllables limited in length, otherwise 
than by the term of expiration : and what produces 
the ordinary length of them, where there is no ob- 
struction to the further continuation of the sound 
of tonic and subtonic elements? 

And, finally, what prescribes the rule which or- 
dains but one accent to a syllable? 

I shall endeavour to answer these questions con- 
cisely and in their order. 

Those portions of voice which, alone or as con- 
stituent parts of words, are called syllables, are the 
effects of the radical and vanishing movement : and 
I shall aim to show that every syllable, consisting of 
one or more elementary sounds, derives its charac- 
ter of length and singleness of impulse, from the 
concrete movement and from the different proper- 
ties of tonic, subtonic, and atonic elements. As I 



72 OF THE DOCTRINE 

cannot give the reader vocal exemplification of this 
subject, the argument contained in the following 
inferences must be illustrated by his own experi- 
mental trials. 

If the concrete movement of the voice through 
a tone or other interval, be the essential function 
of a syllable, it follows that each of the tonic sounds 
may by itself make a syllable : since these cannot 
be pronounced singly, without going through the 
radical and vanishing movement. Now the tonics, 
either in the form of words or as interjective parti- 
cles, are often employed as mono-literal syllables. 

It follows also from the assumed causation of a 
syllable, that two tonics cannot be united into one 
vocal impulse. For each having by nature its own 
radical and vanish, they must produce two sylla- 
bles. Consistently with this, we find that whenever 
two elementary tonics are in sequence, they always 
belong to separate syllables in pronunciation. 

If the concrete function of the voice alone con- 
stitutes a syllable, it follows that the atonies, from 
being incapable of that function, cannot make a 
new and distinct impulse when joined with the to- 
nics. The word " speaks" exhibits the meaning of 
this inference. For the syllabic function, as I sup- 
pose it to be, is here made on the tonic ee-1, whilst 
s, p, k and s add to the time, but do not destroy 
the monosyllabic character of that word. The sound 
is not indeed so gliding and equable as on a single 
tonic, which shows a syllable in its purest form: yet 
the slight obstruction to the singleness of impulse 
is very different from the threefold emphatic divi- 



OF SYLLABICATION. 73 

sion heard in the word u Ohio" — For if this be pro- 
perly pronounced, that is if each of the three tonics 
receive its radical and vanish, it will be impossible 
to condense them into one impulse or syllable. In 
answer to the first question, then,— It is the con- 
crete movement of the elementary sounds, or the 
radical and vanishing function of the voice, which 
produces those successive impulses of speech called 
syllables. 

Syllables are of different lengths. Is this an ar- 
bitrary variation: or is it the unavoidable product 
of the properties of the elementary sounds'? 

This question is not asked in reference to proso- 
dial quantities; nor to those abridgments and pro- 
longations of voice that appropriately mark the 
force and solemnity of oratorical expression. It re- 
gards especially the variation of length in syllables, 
which is unalterably created by their literal con- 
stituents; for it will be shown that their limits are 
determined by the arrangement of these. 

In order to render this subject perspicuous, let 
us take a synthetic view of the literal series in 
words. 

Several of the tonics are found separately as En- 
glish syllables : and these exhibit the syllabic im- 
pulse of the radical and vanish in its most simple 
condition. But elements cannot be compounded, 
with a view to lengthen a syllable, by the addition 
of one tonic to another; for the attempt produces a 
new and separate impulse. 

If to the element a-le the atonic " f " be prefixed, 
the syllable " fa" will be formed, with the concrete 



74 OF THE DOCTRINE 

rise on " a," preceded by the aspiration. If to these 
the atonic " c" be subjoined, the word " face" will 
be longer than the word " a;' 5 still the triple com- 
pound will be but one syllable: since it can have 
only one concrete rise, and that must be on the 
middle element " a." For though these two atonies 
may be clearly heard, as part of the length of the 
syllable, yet being incapable of the concrete func- 
tion, the transition through the given interval is 
made altogether on " a," as if the word consisted of 
that element alone. The addition of atonies to tonics, 
is then the first mode of increasing the length of a 
syllable, without destroying its singleness of im- 
pulse. 

Further, if to the tonic "a" the subtonic "1" 
be prefixed, the syllable " la" will be longer than 
iC a," but will still have but one function of the ra- 
dical and vanish. For I said formerly, that when a 
subtonic is uttered before a tonic, the vanish of the 
subtonic does not occur: its radical continuing on a 
level line of pitch, till the tonic opens on that line 
with a more emphatic radical, and immediately 
carries up the concrete of the syllable. Now in 
the syllable " la," " 1" does begin the impulse with 
its vocality, and without perceptibly rising, joins 
the vocality of " a" which forms the full emphatic 
radical, and then vanishes on the c 'e" of that diphth- 
ongal element. If to " la" the subtonic " v" be sub- 
joined, the compound " lave" will be much longer 
than " a;" and its syllabic character will still be 
preserved, by the singleness of its radical and van- 
ishing movement. In the pronunciation of " lave," 



OF SYLLABICATION. 75 

the intonation of " 1" and " a" will be as before, ex- 
cept that " a" will not now rise quite so far through 
the concrete : for a subtonic having all the proper- 
ties of a vanish, "v" will in this case fall in with "a" 
before it reaches the top of the interval, and thus 
• complete the vanish of the syllable. The junction 
of subtonic elements to tonics, is therefore a second 
mode of adding to the length of syllables, without 
destroying the unity of the radical and vanishing 
concrete. 

Moreover, if the abrupt element "t" be prefixed to 
" a," the syllable " ta," so formed, will be but a sin- 
gle impulse. If " g" be subjoined, the word " tag" 
will still exhibit only one radical and vanish. If in 
this manner two abrupt atonies are joined with the 
short tonics, as in 4 ' cut," " pet," " tik," they produce 
the shortest syllables in the language: in which the 
concrete movement, however short, is still per- 
formed. This union of abrupt elements with tonics, 
is a third mode of preserving the singleness of a syl- 
lable, with the variation of its length. 

The three different sorts of combination enumera- 
ted above, produce their various lengths, in the man- 
ner represented by the examples under each head. 
But none of them can be much extended beyond 
the instances given, whilst they are restricted to 
the kind of elements noted in their respective cases. 

A fourth mode of combining elements is by a 
union of all the four kinds in one syllable. For the 
illustration of this, it is necessary to bear in mind, 
that whenever there is a pause after a subtonic, 
consequently whenever it is uttered singly or at 



i 



7g OF THE DOCTRINE 

the end of a syllable, it unavoidably takes on the 
concrete movement: and that the same condition 
occurs if it is followed by an atonic •, for in this case 
there is a termination of vocality. If we analyze 
the words " strange,'' (properly strandzh) and 
" strength," and the imaginary syllable " sglivzd,*' 
we shall find that but one radical and vanishing 
movement is performed on each of them: and that 
the singleness of impulse is made by the peculiar ar- 
rangement of all the kinds of elements. They con- 
sist of seven sounds, which is the greatest number 
that the nature of the elements admits of, even with 
the best contrived mode of combination. The radical 
and vanishing functions of these syllables are made 
on u ange," " eng" and " ivzd," and the principle of 
the vocal management of the other elements is an- 
alogous in each : for " r" and " 1" being subtonics 
respectively before the tonics a-le, e-nd, i-sle, do not 
take on the concrete. a T" being an abrupt atonic, 
adds nothing to the vocality of " r," and the prece- 
ding atonic " s" having no concrete function, the 
three elements " s," " t" and "r," together with 
" th" in " strength," and the " g" and " 1" in the 
imaginary syllable, increase the length of the seve- 
ral words without destroying the unity of their im- 
pulses. The constituents in each of the above words 
may be combined into one syllable, in other series : 
but in all cases, the atonies must be on the ex- 
tremes. If it is otherwise, as in the arrangement 
" rstange," the whole cannot be pronounced as one 
syllable. For since the vocality of " r" ceases on 
account of the subsequent atonic " s," this " r" 



OF SYLLABICATION. 



77 



must take on the concrete movement, and thus be- 
come a syllable. The reader may remember that 
it was said, the subtonics are capable of the radical 
and vanish when uttered separately : and the ter- 
mination of their sound by an atonic, amounts to 
this condition. 

I have thus endeavoured to show, that the various 
lengths of syllables depend on the nature of the 
constituent elements, and the disposition of them, as 
regards the execution of the radical and vanish. 

The following notation may serve to illustrate 
the preceding account of the structure of syllables. 
I here represent the movement of a third ; but the 
mode is the same, in all intervals. The dotted line 
represents the atonic sound. The black straight 
line denotes the pitch of the subtonic, when it pre- 
cedes a tonic : and the full black point, with its issue, 
signifies the tonic alone, and the tonic in combina- 
tion with the vanishing subtonic. 



3^ 
3 5 -8 



.2 » 

3 "S a 

* •£ 2 

< < 



a - •- 

o -5 a 
E-. •- o 

< 6 i 



\-4-A..JXJ'3^1^±JX£l 



la 



face 



la 



lave 



ta 



take 



A combination of each of the 
species of elements. 



Strandzh 



Strength 



The double syllabic 
impulse by change. 



Z^z 



R standzh. 



In this notation, the atonic sounds are represen- 
ted by the dotted lines, as if they had a certain 



7§ OF THE DOCTRINE 

place in pitch; but being mere aspirations, their 
place is in no appreciable relation to the tonics and 
subtonics : and I beg that the reader may so under- 
stand the notation, when the atonic symbols are 
used to show the presence of the aspirated voice. 

If the principle of syllabication consists in a sim- 
ple pause of the voice, or any other mode of sound 
than that which I have insisted on, a syllable might 
contain an indefinite number of tonic sounds, com- 
bined with such other elements as have no occlu- 
sion : and consequently the length of the syllable 
would be limited only by the time of expiration. 
But from the influence of the radical and vanish, in 
the utterance of the common aggregates of elemen- 
tary sounds, the duration of a syllable is quickly 
arrested. There are twelve tonics ; fourteen subto- 
nics ; nine atonies ; and six abrupt elements. Twelve 
of these, the nine atonies and the three abrupt sub- 
tonics, being productive of an interruption to the 
continuity of the syllabic impulse, the mingling of 
all the elements must give one of these a position 
in every third or fourth place among the tonics and 
subtonics, and thereby set a limit to the duration 
of syllabic sound. Sometimes this interruption pro- 
duces syllables of two letters only : and it has never 
I believe, in the English language, allowed any 
syllable in use, to extend beyond seven. 

The reason why the words " strange" and 
" strength" cannot be made longer without more 
than ordinary effort, is this: The tonic elements can- 
not be added for this purpose, since each of them 
always makes either the whole or part of a separate 



OF SYLLABICATION. 79 

syllable. Nor will these words bear a subtonic 
at the beginning : for as a s" is an atonic, any sub- 
tonic uttered before it must come to a pause, must 
therefore go through its vanish, and thus produce a 
separate syllable. The prefixion of atonies to these 
words would not indeed make a new concrete ; but 
it would produce a varying effort of hissing and as- 
piration, which would bear no analogy to the audi- 
ble and gliding nature of tonic and subtonic sylla- 
bication. 

In answer then to the question, why syllables are 
not continued to the utmost length of an act of ex- 
piration, it has been shown that as the course of 
speech consists of the elements, the abrupt and ato- 
nic must necessarily produce frequent divisions of 
the time of one expiration, into different syllabic 
impulses. 

In any number of elementary sounds, let us now 
suppose the atonic and abrupt to be rejected, and 
consequently the last mentioned cause of limitation 
to be removed. Why is it impossible in this case to 
give indefinite length to a syllable formed by a to- 
nic, united with any number of subtouics ? or why is 
such a syllable otherwise limited, than by the ex- 
haustion of expiration ? — when a tonic precedes a 
subtonic, in the formation of any concrete interval, 
it gives up a portion of its movement to that subto- 
nic, which then carries on and completes the vanish. 
In this way the radical and vanish may consist of a 
tonic and one, two, three, or at most four subtonics. 
But the number cannot, in easy pronunciation, be 
extended beyond these. Thus in the syllable 



80 OF THE DOCTRINE 

"strandzh" (strange) the concrete rise begins on "a," 
and continuing through "n," "d" and " zh," vanish- 
es on this last. If two more subtonics " v" and " m" 
were subjoined to this word, as in " strandzhvm," 
few speakers could make one pure syllabic impulse 
of the combination. The reason of this difficulty, 
or as we may call it, impossibility, will appear in 
the following remarks. 

In the most general use of the voice, the con- 
crete rises through the interval of a tone, and em- 
ploys a certain portion of time. Now though the 
tone and time may be executed on one tonic com- 
bined with several subtonics ; yet there is a maxi- 
mum to the number, utterable by an easy effort of 
speech. For as each constituent must have a cer- 
tain duration, to render it cognizable as a variation 
of pitch, and to ensure a distinct pronunciation ; it 
must consume some of the time of the concrete. It 
is plain from experience that each constituent does 
consume so much, that not more than four subto- 
nics, together with the preceding tonic, can in easy 
utterance be compressed into the time and space of 
the radical and vanish. 

In describing the concrete, we pointed out three 
modes of this function, — the equable progress of 
speech, the radical prolongation of recitative, and 
the vanishing prolongation of song. When a com- 
bination of tonics and subtonics, greater than can be 
used for one concrete, is offered for pronunciation, 
one of two things must occur : either two syllables 
must be formed by two separate concretes, or 
some one or more of the numerous constituents 



OF SYLLABICATION. 



si 



must be prolonged on one line of pitch. Now by 
the nature of the concrete only two points of the 
interval, the lower and the upper extreme, can be 
prolonged on a level line of pitch. The voice can- 
not be held on the middle or other points of the in- 
terval. If therefore there should be more elements 
in succession than, with a fair allowance of time to 
each, can be put into one equable concrete func- 
tion •, and there should be an attempt to prevent the 
rise of one or more of them, for the purpose of 
bringing the others within the designed interval, it 
would not indeed create two syllables, but it would 
produce the intonation of recitative or song, which 
would still be different from the pure and equable 
syllabic utterance. 

I have thus endeavoured to show why, in ordi- 
nary speech, syllables cannot be indefinitely pro- 
longed when they consist only of tonic and subtonic 
sounds, and consequently when there is no ob- 
struction to their continuation, by the interposition 
of abrupt and atonic elements. 

A further consideration of the radical and vanish- 
ing movement, will inform us why there is, ordina- 
rily, but one effort of accentual stress on each sylla- 
ble. I will show hereafter that there are but five 
modes in which the force of voice called accent can 
be used on the concrete. First, by the abrupt ex- 
plosion of the radical. Secondly, by giving more 
force of voice to the middle of the concrete. Third- 
ly, by giving to the whole of the concrete the same 
fulness that naturally belongs to the radical. Fourth- 
ly* D J distinguishing the whole of the concrete by 

M 



82 OF THE DOCTRINE 

greater force of voice, the proportions of the radical 
and vanish remaining unaltered. Fifthly, by an 
abrupt stress on the radical, and a force of voice on 
the extreme of the vanish. The first four of these 
modes do not alter the singleness of the accentual 
impression. Something like an exception to the 
rule of a single accent, seems to exist in the fifth, 
as will be particularly noticed under the future 
head of " Expression :" — but this condition, if an 
exception at all, is not of common occurrence, and 
is by no means contemplated here, in looking at 
the ordinary phenomena of syllabic speech. 

From what has been said upon the construction 
of syllables, the reader will, no doubt perceive a 
difference in their quality as regards the agreea- 
bleness of sound, and the gliding continuity of 
voice. The most eminent on these points are the 
tonics: and although the concrete rise of a diphthong 
consists of two dissimilar sounds, it is not inferior in 
the above named qualities, to the single voice of a 
monothong. 

The next condition of the syllable is that formed 
by an initial tonic, followed by one or two subtonics, 
as : " aim/' " ale," " arm," " earn," " elm," " orle." 
These have an easy mingling of their constituents, 
and their tonic commencement allows an equable 
concrete movement from the opening to the close 
of the syllable. 

The equable progress is, to a certain degree, 
impaired in the next order of syllables, in which 
the first sound is a subtonic, as in " maims," " gale," 
" warms," "zearn," "realm." As the radical in these 



OP SYLLABICATION. S3 

cases does not properly begin on the first element, 
there is a slight Note of the subtonic which precedes 
the tonic, on a level line of pitch. 

The next and least agreeable of the syllabic com- 
binations are those which contain each of the three 
kinds of elements, as " swarms," " strength," 
" thrown, 1 ' u smiles." Here the atonic sounds are not 
agreeable. They prevent the equability of the con- 
crete movement ; and though they do not destroy the 
singleness of impulse, they are attended with some 
hiatus from the changes of position in the organs 
which produce them. 

A few syllables in the language, such as the last 
of " little,? are made of sulfonics and atonies, with- 
out the addition of a tonic sound. They are desti- 
tute of force and fulness in the radical opening. 
They have the nasal kind of vocality, which belongs 
to the subtonics : and it is most remarkable in these 
syllables, because here it is not covered by the clear 
laryngeal texture of the tonics. 

There are various degrees in the smoothness of 
the syllabic impulse, from the clear transition of 
the diphthongal tonics " a" and " awe," to the two 
concretes of a dissyllable. The words " flower," 
" higher," " boy," M voice," and " coin," by a slight 
variation in effort, may be uttered either as one or 
two syllables. Under the first condition, each of 
these words seems to consist of the union of two 
tonics in one syllable, which I have said is impossi- 
ble. If" flower" is pronounced with the glide of a 
single impulse, it must be upon the elements,/, J, 
ow, and r, and this pronunciation exhibits no incon- 



S4 OF THE DOCTRINE 

sistency with our proposed doctrine of syllables. 
If the tonic c-rr be sounded before r, it will be im- 
possible to avoid the double impulse. 

I have considered a syllable as essentially a func- 
tion of the radical and vanish ; and this function is 
equally productive of the syllabic impulse, in a 
downward as in an upward direction. I shall show 
in a future section, when the reader is prepared to 
understand the explanation, that the unity of the 
syllable is not destroyed by a movement of the 
voice, through a continuity of the upward and 
downward concrete. 

The preceding history has enabled us to explain 
many causes which must remain hidden to a less 
searching analysis. Upon our principles of sylla- 
bication we may account for the disagreeable effect, 
produced both in the organs of utterance and on 
the ear by the use of the indefinite article "a" be- 
fore a vowel (or tonic,) and by other similar succes- 
sions as in " aorta." 

If we utter the tonics in series, we may in a cer- 
tain manner pass from one to the other without 
a break, and without the point of junction being 
appreciable. In this case, the elements are joined 
to each other by the mediation of the subtonic " y.'' 
But in this continuous mode of utterance, there is 
an absence of that fulness and abruptness which 
forms, in its proper place, the character of the tonic 
radical ; since abruptness always requires a pre- 
vious occlusion of the voice. When a continuation 
of vocal ity is made from a subtonic to a tonic the 
effect is. different: for the subtonics having more 



OF SYLLABICATION. 85 

or less occlusion, and a vocule more or less dis- 
tinct, means are afforded, by this occlusion and 
by the outset of this vocule, for the formation of 
the abrupt sound of the tonic •, and consequently 
a true radical may be made on a tonic which is 
continuous with a subtonic. Now when the article 
" a" is made to coalesce with a tonic at the begin- 
ning of a word, an unpleasant perception arises 
from a want of the fulness of a radical in that ini- 
tial tonic. If, however, the article is pronounced 
separately, in order that the initial tonic may have 
its full radical opening, the unpleasant effect will 
disappear, though the pronunciation will be neces- 
sarily slower. In this way, u a owl" and " a age" 
are as unexeptionable, as " an owl" and u an age." 
The junction of the u n" with a tonic (and the same 
is true of all the subtonics) produces an agree- 
able coalescence, from the slight occlusion between 
them : whilst the union of the vanish of one tonic 
with the radical of another, creates a disagreeable 
effort in the organs, and produces an unpleasant 
impression on the ear. This hiatus, as it is called, 
is caused by a deficiency in the fulness of the radi- 
cal •, by an endeavour to supply this deficiency and 
yet at the same time to pass quickly from tonic to 
tonic •, and by the disappointment of the ear, in not 
receiving the impression of the element, as it is 
heard in the same word on other occasions. We 
cannot then in a continuous course of tonic utter- 
ance produce that desirable radical abruptness, 
which is easily accomplished when the tonics are 
pronounced with a pause between them, or after 



86 OP THE DOCTRINE 

the natural pauses or occlusions which belong to 
the subtonics. 

The hiatus accompanying the junction of one 
tonic with another, will be less remarkable when 
the tonic which succeeds is without the stress of 
accent. Thus it is less in " a account" than in t{ a 
accident:'* for in the first example, a full degree of 
radical abruptness in the tonic " a" is not required. 

It is upon the principle of the syllabic agency of 
the radical and vanish, that the passed time and 
perfect participle of some verbs ending in " ed," 
when contracted into one syllable by rejecting the 
tonic "e," change " d" into "t," as: snatched 
snatch't; passed pass't; stopp'tj check't. For if the 
"e" be dropped, the " d" which remains having a 
vocality, and possessing as a subtonic the power 
of a concrete movement, it must, when preceded 
by an abrupt or atonic element, as in the above in- 
stances, exhibit a radical and vanish and conse- 
quently must make a syllable, in place of that made 
on "edj" which by the proposition was to be re- 
jected. But if the abrupt atonic " t" is substituted 
for " d," that element may be retained without de- 
stroying the singleness of the syllabic impulse. 

Those irregular verbs which, by contraction^ 
have their present and past times and perfect par- 
ticiple alike, are generally fouud to end in " t," as : 
beat, hurt, let, left. The economy of utterance or 
the occasions of poetical measure, producing a con- 
traction of the regular form of " beat beated beated," 
which we may suppose to have been the original 
structure of the verb, the operation of the radical 



OF SYLLABICATION. 87 

and vanish in syllabication does not allow the con- 
traction to be made by the mere elision of " e." 
For upon this elision, " beated/ can be changed to 
one syllable, as we have seen above, only by sub- 
stituting the atonic " t" for the subtonic " d," as in 
" beat 't," — and this differs so slightly from " beat" 
that this single word would be used as the inflec- 
tion of the verb, and as the participle. 

I might still further apply the foregoing princi- 
ples in the explanation of many apparently anoma- 
lous facts in pronunciation, which have hitherto 
passed without scrutiny or without satisfactory in- 
terpretation. But I have already exceeded my 
original intention, in planning the subject of this 
section ; and must therefore leave many particulars, 
to the comprehensive reflection and close observa- 
tion of the reader. Perhaps I do not exceed the 
bounds of reasonable anticipation, when I foresee 
his rising interest in this history of the voice. But 
all these things, and more too that I shall tell, may 
be made by him, to seem only like the preface to 
a full knowledge of this subject, — if he will adopt 
the mode of inquiry which has thus far assisted me: 
— if he will become the spy upon nature, through 
his own watchfulness, and not draw too much from 
the precarious source of authority : — if he will turn 
from those discouraging prospects, presented by 
the result of every attempt to make knowledge out 
of notions; and by entering into sober communion 
with his own senses, lay himself open to the advis- 
ing of those five ministers of knowledge, appointed 
by nature for his counselling in all truth. 



SECTION V. 



Of the causative mechanism of the Voice, — in rela 
Hon to its different qualities. 



A description of the different sorts of sound of 
the human voice, without an exemplification by ac- 
tual utterance, is always insufficient, and often un- 
intelligible. With a view to facilitate instruction, 
it is desirable to discover the mechanical move- 
ments of the organs, and the mode of action of the 
air upon them; that a reference to the conforma- 
tions and changes of these organs, and to the im- 
pulses of the air, may enable any one to have a 
precise perception of the nature of described 
sounds, by using the known physical means which 
produce them. 

The result of physiological inquiries on this sub 
ject is not satisfactory. It is unfortunate that many 
physiologists have been public teachers, appointed 
to stations of influence, and directed by the rules 
of their office to instruct, without having the time 
or ability or disposition to investigate. Their con- 
dition has obliged them to compile without choice, 
to define and arrange without reflection, and to ef- 
fect an originality which was utterly forbidden by 
the frame of their minds or the multiplicity of their 
duties. From these professorial physiologists the 



OF THE MECHANISM OF THE VOICE. §9 

place and covered movements of the organs of 
speech seemed to cut off the means of observation ; 
and whilst they have feigned themselves under an 
obligation to teach what they had never learned 
they have endeavoured to elude the difficulty, by 
framing some of those works of fancy, which the 
craft of mastership long ago devised for satisfying 
the cravings of undiscerning youth. The puerile 
wishes of the scholar have been respectfully re- 
garded by the teacher-, and knowledge under his 
hands, has frequently been rather a picture of the 
pupil's anticipations than the truth, and nothing but 
the truth of nature. 

There are few confirmed opinions among wri- 
ters, on the mechanism of speech : and honestly 
speaking according to the duties of philosophy, we 
are bound to acknowledge our ignorance of nearly 
all the physical causes of the varieties of the voice. 
We know that the voice is made by the passage of air 
through the larynx and cavities of the mouth and 
nose. From experiments on the human larynx when 
removed from the body, and from observations upon 
the vocal function of dogs, by exposing the organs 
in the living animals, it is infered with great pro- 
bability that the production of voice is immediately 
connected with the vibration of the ligaments of the 
glottis. We have no precise knowledge of the 
causes of pitch : its formation having been by au- 
thors differently attributed to the contraction of 
the glottis, — the shortening of its chords, — their al- 
tered degrees of tension, — the varying velocity of 
the current of air through the aperture of the glot- 



90 OF THE MECHANISM 

tis, — the rise and fall of the whole larynx, and the 
consequent variation of length in the vocal avenues, 
between the glottis and the external limit of the 
cavity of the mouth and of the nose, — and finally, 
to the influence of a union of all these causes. 

Nor are we acquainted with the causes which 
produce those affections of sound called " whisper," 
" falsette," " natural voice," and what in vocal sci- 
ence is called " pure tone." Each of these modes 
of voice has been unsatisfactorily ascribed to one or 
more of the above mentioned causes of pitch ; and 
the locality of these functions has, with no more 
precision, been severally assigned to the chest, 
throat and head. 

These varying and contradictory accounts of the 
voice have been in some measure the consequence 
of conceiting a resemblance between the organs of 
speech and common instruments of music: and whilst 
those fluctuations of opinion, which never belong 
to truth, have alternately represented the vocal me- 
chanism to be like that of mouthed, and reeded, and 
stringed instruments, the spirit of these unfounded 
or still incomplete analogies has been carried to the 
outrage of all similitude, by comparing the track of 
the fauces, mouth and nose, to the body of a flute ; 
and by ascribing one of the defects of intonation to a 
difference of tension in what are called the " strings 
of the glottis." We are too much disposed to mea- 
sure the resources of nature, for the production of 
sound, by the imperfect inventions of art. The 
forms of matter which jointly with the motion of 
air may create sound, must be innumerable; and 



OF THE VOICE. 91 

there certainly is not much comprehensive design 
in limiting our ideas of the mechanism of the hu- 
man voice, to the figure and functions of those few 
forms, which have received the name of " musical 
instruments." 

The illustrations which these are supposed to af- 
ford are but resting places for the mind, in the per- 
plexed pursuit of truth. The physiologists of anti- 
quity thought they explained the mysteries of the 
voice, when they compared the trachea to a flute : 
and science reclined, from the time of Galen, to that 
of Dodart and Ferrein in the eighteenth century, on 
the satisfaction produced by this fancy. The means 
of illustration have followed the fashion of instru- 
ments, and of late years, the chords of the iEolian 
harp and the reed of the hautboy have furnished 
mechanical pictures of the organs of voice. All the 
great revolutions in opinion, all the great works of 
invention and discovery have generally been pre- 
ceded by a conviction on the part of their authors, 
that the strong habits of mankind, whether in the 
ways of thought or of social convention, might with- 
out mischief or folly be altered or reversed: and al- 
though the general belief in the resemblance of the 
mechanism of the human voice, to that of common 
instruments of music may be hereafter proved, just 
reflection will guard us against surprise, on a future 
discovery, that in most points the functions of the 
two cases are totally dissimilar. Before the use of 
the balloon, for the support and progression of men 
upon the air, no one ever imagined the possibility 



9£ OF THE MECHANISM 

of his flight, through any other instrumentality than 
that of wings. 

The history of the voice consists of some due ex- 
periment and observation, and of inferences from 
the principles of musical instruments, impertinently 
applied to the human organs. We seem to have 
been so entirely convinced of the analogy between 
these cases, and have relied so implicitly on systems 
and definitions made therefrom, that we have almost 
forgotten the importance of observation. The vani- 
ty of fancying knowledge completed, and despair 
in thinking it unattainable, are equally adverse to 
the efforts of improvement. The pure and tran- 
scendent spirit of Baconian science directs us, by 
its productive rules, to record all the phenomena 
of the voice : and requires us, to know resemblances 
and differences, not to imagine them. There can 
be no objection to the use of analogies, in the in- 
vestigation of the processes of nature. With pe- 
culiar adaptation to a varied purpose, they are keen 
and bright and indispensable instruments both for 
hewing out and for finishing truth; but they should 
never be confounded with the objects which they 
are intended merely to shape and to decorate. In 
the present inquiry, it might be proper to bring 
into the field of scrutiny, a consideration of all the 
artificial instruments of sound: but when a strict use 
of the senses can discover no point of similarity be- 
tween them and the organs of voice, except in the 
common function of the vibration of air, it can be 
no benefit to retain, as parts of the body of a sci- 



OF THE VOICE. 93 

ence, those means which have been used in unsuc- 
cessful attempts to discover its truth. 

In the subject before us, I cannot so far follow 
the example of system makers, and professors, as 
to furnish, right or wrong, an account of the me- 
chanical causes of vocal sound, solely because an 
explanation is desirable and may be looked for. I 
aim, in this work, to serve truth with my senses, 
not to meet and conciliate the will of the reader by 
my fancies. I shall therefore describe what is dis- 
tinguishable by the ear, in the different kinds of 
voice ; together with the visible structure, and 
movement of the organs, in the hope that an accu- 
mulation of facts, with future experiments, may 
lead other inquirers to that certainty of doctrine, 
which under the employment of a different method 
of investigation has never been established. 

The thirty five elements of speech may be heard 
under four different sorts of voice: the Whispering, 
the Natural, the Falsette, and that improved condi- 
tion of the voice, which in the language of vocal 
science is called Pure tone. 

The Whispering voice is the constituent of the 
atonic elements. All the tonics and the greater 
part of the subtonics may likewise be uttered under 
this mode of sound. The subtonics r, z, u\ th, zh, 
when whispered are not respectively different 
from the atonies /*, s, wh, th, sh. The other subtonics 
may be heard in the aspiration: for the whispers of 
6, d and g, which have been considered by Holder 
and his followers, as identical with the atonies p, t 
and fc, are distinguishable from these elements, by 



94 OF THE MECHANISM 

a slight guttural effort of aspiration preceding their 
final explosion. 

A whisper under certain circumstances admits 
of the variations of Pitch. The several tonics, with 
different degrees of facility, may be carried through 
the whole octave, in the concrete, the discrete and" 
the tremulous scales. Some of the subtonics when 
heard under the aspiration, have a movement in 
pitch-, though inferior in range, to the compass of 
the tonics. The atonies which are naturally aspi- 
rated elements are to be considered as totally in- 
dependent of rise and fall. For though something 
like a variation of pitch may be made by strenu- 
ous effort on a solitary element, still they are not to 
be regarded as contributions towards the concrete, 
in pronunciation.-— It is this variation of pitch in 
whispering, which is practicable on the tonic ele- 
ments, that produces tune in the Jews-harp; and it 
is owing to the want of practice, as well as to na- 
tural imperfection in the intonation of whisper, that 
persons even of a quick musical ear, are able, on 
first trials, to make only the common chord, or the 
first, third, fifth and octave upon the scale of this 
simple instrument. 

The mechanical causes of aspiration, as distin- 
guished from vocality, are not satisfactorily pointed 
out. It has been said, and it may be so, that whis- 
pering is the effect of the passage of air through the 
vocal tube, whilst the chords of the glottis are at 
rest; whereas the vocality, it is said, proceeds from 
the agitation of the air, by the vibration of those 
chords. All this however is but an inference upon 



OF THE VOICE. 95 

analogy, and may thus claim the rights of probabili- 
ty, but no more. 

The mechanical cause of the variation of pitch in 
whisper is to me unknown. It probably is the same 
with that of vocality. Of this I confess myself equal- 
ly ignorant: and the discrepance among authors, on 
this point, has never impressed me with much re- 
spect towards their opinions. 

The variations of pitch in Whistling, which is a 
sort of shrill inarticulate whisper, and which may 
be properly noticed here, are produced by the me- 
chanism of the tongue. This may be proved by de- 
pressing the tongue, by means of a thin rod passed 
through the corner of the mouth, during the act of 
whistling. The power of intonation in this function 
will thereby be destroyed. The motion of the 
tongue may be felt, and its instrumentality in pro- 
ducing the pitch of whistling may be ascertained, 
by any one who can execute a shake in this sort of 
sound. During the shake, there is no alteration of 
the aperture of the lips. For though some varia- 
tion in this respect may be observed, in running 
through the whole compass, particularly when the 
note is made by inspiration, — the principal agency 
of the aperture consists in the production of the 
shrillness which characterizes this function. The 
compass of pitch is greater in whistling than in the 
whisper of articulation. 

It deserves to be remarked under this head, that 
the distinct utterance of the elements, and the va- 
rieties of pitch in the Jews-harp and in whistling, 
can be made by the breath of inspiration. If these 



96 OF THE MECHANISM. 

affections of the whisper cannot thus be produced 
as easily and as correctly as in expiration, it may, 
with a sufficiency of cause, be ascribed to the limi- 
tation of our voluntary power over the act of in- 
spiration. 

The Natural voice is that which we employ in 
ordinary speaking. It includes a range of pitch, 
from the lowest utterable sound, up to that point at 
which the voice is said to break. At this upper ex- 
treme, the peculiar kiud of voice called natural 
ceases, and the higher practicable parts of the scale 
are made by another kind called Falsette. The 
natural voice is capable of the discrete, the con- 
crete, and the tremulous progression. By the con- 
crete and the tremulous movement, the natural and 
falsette voices may be uttered continuedly without 
a perceptible point of union. By this concrete rise, 
the voice in vehement interrogation sometimes 
passes far above the limit of the natural scale, with- 
out exhibiting the unpleasant break in its transition 
to the falsette. In the discrete scale, the place of 
change to the falsette is remarkable, both as to 
sound and executive effort ; except in the practice 
of persons of great vocal skill. The peculiarity in 
quality of sound and intonation at this point of the 
discrete scale has received the name of" false note/" 

As each of the tonic elements can, in the natural 
voice, be carried through the gradations of pitch, 
without visible alteration in the position of the parts 
which make the element :* and as the sound of the 

* The cnly occasion on which the pitch seems to be made by 
the causative mechanism of the elements, is in the formation of 



OF THE VOICE. 97 

tonics is not modified by the nose, the passage to 
that cavity being closed by the palate during the ut- 
terance of them, — it may be asserted, without fear 
of dispute, that the organization which produces 
pitch in the natural voice, lies behind and below 
the root of the tongue. Beyond this knowledge, 
there is no certainty ; and we must herein continue 
to be inquirers. 

Does pitch depend on the aperture of the glotis ? 
Or on the tension of its ligaments 1 Or in the velo- 
city of their vibration ? Or on any influence of the 
epiglottis? Or on the velocity of the air? Or upon 
a combination of two or more of these causes ? and 
finally, as the mode of intonation in whistling proves 
that pitch may be made independently of the appa- 
ratus of the larynx, it is worth inquiry whether the 
production of pitch in the natural voice, is connected 
with the contraction of the upper part of the pha- 
rynx and fauces, and the retraction of the base of 
the tongue : these parts forming, in this way, a tu- 
bular passage diverging upwards from the top of 
the larynx. 

The natural voice passes through the mouth or 
nose, or through both, according to the elements 
uttered. In the tonic sounds, the passage to the nose 
is closed by the palate, and the air issues freely 
through the mouth. JVg, one of the subtonics passes 

"a;" for the tongue, in rising to the roof of the mouth, seems to 
produce the rise of its vanish "e." But that this is no cause of 
pitch is plain from the fact, that the rise of the tongue occurs 
equally in the production of the " e, ? ' when the concrete is in 
the downward direction. 



98 OF THE MECHANISM 

altogether through the nose. The rest pass through 
the mouth aud Dose at the same time. Though 
these are the proper and agreeable modes of pro- 
nouncing the tonic and subtonic elements, under 
the current of the natural voice, yet each of them 
may be uttered with the larger portion of vocal 
breath passing through the nose. But by this mode 
the tonic vocality will be changed towards that of 
the subtonics : the articulation will be more obscure, 
and the sound will lose that clearness, fulness, ab- 
rupt opening, and musical quality which renders 
the tonics so agreeable for speech, and so well fitted 
to exhibit all the functions of the radical and vanish. 
Upon this view it may be inquired, if the subto- 
nic vocality spoken of in the third section, does not 
receive its character from the partial obstruction to 
the passage of the air through the mouth, and its 
free exit at the same time through the nose. When 
the passage between the tongue and the roof of the 
mouth, and the aperture in the lips, which respect- 
ively make the tonics ee-l and ooze, are further 
closed, the subtonic vocality of "y" and " w" is pro- 
duced ; though the exact condition of the passage 
to the nose, in the formation of these is not known. 
The FaJsette voice is that peculiar sound in which 
the higher degrees of pitch are made, after the na- 
tural voice breaks or outruns its power. The cry, 
the scream, the yell, and all shrillness of voice are 
various modes of the falsette. It must not be under- 
stood, that the compass of this voice lies restrict- 
ively between the point of pitch at which the natu- 
ral ends, and the highest practicable note. The 



OF THE VOICE. 99 

same kind of falsette sound may be formed some- 
what below that point of transition between the two 
voices, which is marked when the natural is put 
through all its degrees. All the elements except 
the atonies may be made in the falsette: for there 
is no quality corresponding to this sort of voice in 
the higher notes of whisper. I have already re- 
marked that the unpleasant effect both of sound and 
of effort, in the transition from the natural to the 
falsette intonation, is obviated when the succession 
is made by the concrete and the tremulous scales. 

The mechanism of the pitch of falsette does not 
consist in the position or movement of the tongue 
and lips, similar to that which produces the func- 
tion of whistling. And further, it is obvious from 
the condition of the organs, that it does not arise 
from a propulsion of the air through the nose : for 
it can be produced when the soft palate may be 
both seen and felt to be in contact with the basis of 
the cranium ; the passage to the head being thereby 
obstructed. The falsette may indeed, like the na- 
tural voice, be sent by designed effort through the 
head, and may thereby become offensively nasal j 
but this quality is not the characteristic of its tonic 
sounds. In this voice, "ng" is made entirely through 
the cavity of the nose, and the other subtonics, by 
a partial use of the same passage. The function 
commonly called "Humming," is generally made 
by the use of the subtonic " ng" in the falsette. 

It has been supposed that the falsette is made 
through an " upper orifice of the larynx, formed 
by the summits of the aretynoid cartilages and the 



100 °F THE MECHANISM 

epiglottis,"* and the difficulty of joining the falsette 
with the natural voice, which is thought to be made 
by the ligaments of the glottis, is ascribed to the 
change of mechanism in the transition. But there 
is no difficulty when the change is made by the con- 
crete movement. 

The true cause of the falsette is yet to be shown. 
The term pure tone has sprung from the culti- 
vation of the art of singing, and is used, in that art, 
to signify a certain eminence of qualities in the 
voice. In general metaphorical description, it means 
a fulness, smoothness and ringing effect which may 
exist naturally in the voice, or may be acquired. 
The investigation of the nature of pure tone has 
drawn the attention of philosophic writers on song; 
and though its embellishment of the equable con- 
crete of speech, is not less conspicuous than its ef- 
fect in the other modes of vocal intonation, I have 
not been able to learn that this kind of voice has 
ever been particularly examined in reference to 
reading or recitation. 

The limited analysis and the vague history of the 
voice given by the ancients, and further confused 
by the commentators upon them, leave us in doubt 
whether the expression " os rotundum," which was 
used by the Romans in enumerating the merits of 
Greek utterance, had reference to the construction 
of periods, the predominance or position of vowels, 
or to quality of voice. Whatever may have been 
the original signification of the phrase, the English 

* See a summary of the discoveries and opinions of M. Do- 
dart, in Rees' Cyclopaedia, under the article, Voice. 



OF THE VOICE. 



101 



term " roundness of tone," specifying the kind of 
voice, seems to have been derived from it. 

He who has closely observed the human voice, 
and by listening to its paragon instances on the 
Stage, has obtained a knowledge of its powers and 
beauties, must remember how slowly he came to 
the full perception and relish of its eminent quali- 
ties. He must acknowledge likewise, that these 
qualities would have attracted his attention much 
sooner, if they had been summed up and signalized 
by a proper oratorical name. On the basis of the latin 
phrase, I have by elision constructed the term Oro- 
tund, to signify, both adjectively and substantively, 
that clear, full, powerful and sonorous quality of 
speech, which at the entrance on this subject 1 was 
obliged to designate by a name borrowed from the 
distinctions of the singing voice. 

By Pure tone in articulation, or by the Orotund 
voice, I mean that natural or improved manner of 
uttering the elements, which exhibits them with a 
fulness, smoothness and a ringing or musical char- 
acter of sound, rarely heard in ordinary speech ; 
and never found in its possible excellence except 
through high cultivation. By fulness of voice, I 
mean that grave and hollow volume of speech 
which approaches towards hoarseness. By the 
ringing or musical character of the voice, — its dis- 
tant resemblance to the sounds produced by the 
resonance of musical instruments. I know how 
difficult it is to make such descriptions as these, 
definite, without the illustration of audible exam- 
ple. Perhaps the best mode of instruction, on this 



IQ2 OF THE MECHANISM 

subject, is to excite attention by terms; to give 
as clearly as possible a detailed explanation of 
the thing, by figurative reference, and to leave its 
recognition to the subsequent observation of the 
learner. The same natural relationships which 
suggested the metaphor to its inventor, will in due 
time, produce in the mind of others a ready acqui- 
escence in the aptness of the illustration* 

The mechanical structure and the action of parts 
which produce the orotund voice, are to me un- 
known. It is not made by any influence of the 
tongue or lips. Nor is the closing of the passage to 
the nose by the palate, necessary for its formation. 
The only visible movement or position attendant 
upon it, is that of a contraction of the boundary of 
the throat below the level of the tongue. The 

* The reader may learn from reverberations, the nature of 
those qualities which we have ascribed to the orotund voice. 
Vaulted ceilings and coved recesses often give a ringing echo; 
and speaking with the mouth within an empty vessel of parti- 
cular form, produces a hollow fulness. One of the best in- 
stances I ever heard, of the modification of the human voice, 
into the above named qualities, was in the speech and song of 
a boy who had sportfully gotten into a large copper alembic. 

It may be worth thinking upon, whether the brazen vases of 
the Greek theatre were not intended to improve the voice in 
quality, rather than to increase its. quantity: whether they did 
not assist in the production of the " os rotundum" which we are 
informed, the Greeks affected in all their speech and decla- 
mation. — The speaking trumpet may give, though not agreeably, 
an idea of the qualities above described: and could the bugle or 
the organ diapason be made to articulate, they would show the 
highest measure of that fulness and sonorous effect, which in a 
humbly reduced proportion, constitute the character of the oro- 
tund voice. 



OF THE VOICE. 103 

more this position is assumed in utterance, the more 
the voice acquires a manner which creates the idea 
of its proceeding from the recesses of the chest, 
or which resembles the hollow sound, made by 
speaking with the mouth within an empty vessel. I 
ask, but not with much confidence in the sugges- 
tion, if the position described, is part of the me- 
chanical cause of the orotund? 

This tubular diverging state of the upper part of 
the pharynx may be so compressed above the glot- 
tis, as to produce a rough vibrating voice, by the 
gushing of air between the moist approximated sides 
of the passage. In this manner the harsh guttural 
sound is formed which is employed in the expres- 
sion of energetic scorn and contempt; as will be 
more particularly shown hereafter. I ask whether 
the trachea is instrumental in the production of the 
orotund, by directing, in a particular manner, the 
current of expired air, — for I shall say presently 
that the management of the breath, is closely con- 
nected with this kind of voice. 

The English language has adopted from Italian 
nomenclature, the terms "Voce di petto" and "Voce 
di testa," which seem to include the theory of the 
formation of pure tone. The voce di petto is the 
voice from ihe chest; the voce di testa is the voice 
from the head or the falsette.* Besides the vague- 
ness, arising from the anatomical distinction being 
in this case so general, there is much reason to 

* In one writer, I find the locality assigned to the falsette, as I 
have stated it: in another, it is called the voice from the throat, 
and each opinion is laid down as a grave truth ! 



104 OF THE MECHANISM 

doubt the propriety of the systematic division, when 
considered as a philosophical analysis. It is more 
than probable, from the experiments of physiolo- 
gists, that the vocal effect is produced by the glottis. 
The substance or ground work of the voice, if I 
may so speak, being made in that part, we are to 
consider the whispering, falsette, natural and oro- 
tund voices, as modifications of function in the 
glottis, and not as signatures of a different seat of 
sound. Now though the voices of the head and 
chest, as they are called, seem by their peculiarity 
to point out their assumed locality, the perception 
may nevertheless be deceptive. 

The only circumstances under which the voice 
can be heard, with a certainty of the place of its 
mechanism, is, as it is produced in the glottis, and 
as it afterwards issues freely through the mouth and 
nose separately, or through the mouth and nose at 
the same time ; so that a classification of vocal sound 
in this view may be into oral, nasal and oro-nasal. 
By this scheme the tonic vocality is oral; one of the 
subtonics, nasal, and the rest oro-nasal. That mo- 
dification of voice which we have called the oro- 
tund, might therefore without absurdity be attri- 
buted to the function of one or more of the above 
named parts; but it cannot without wildness of 
thought be ascribed to the agency of the chest. 

The falsette, which is called the voice from the 
Head, may be made whilst the passage to the nose 
is closed by the palate-, the sound being thereby 
prevented from passing to the head. 

All we are allowed to say of this distinction, ac- 



OF THE VOICE. 105 

cording to the head and chest, is that each is a pe- 
culiar kind of sound: nor does present knowledge 
point out the place and mode of their mechanism. 
I grant that the orotund seems to proceed from a 
lower place in the throat, than the falsette and the 
common colloquial voice ; and I admit that its pro- 
duction is accompanied by the perception of effort 
about the larynx, which is not perceived in those 
other voices. The erroneous perception which 
suggested the term ventriloquist, and the deceptive 
exercises of this art, warn us against incautiously 
relying on the mere audible indications of the loca- 
lity of sounds. 

There is a fulness of voice, which at a low pitch 
has a certain hollowness like the reverberations of 
a cavity. In this case there is no proof that the 
larynx descends lower into the chest, or that the 
trachea, bronchise or follicles of the lungs perform 
any sonorous function. The whole effect must be 
resolved into its being a peculiar sound, made by 
the glottis or other neighbouring structure, and 
resembling what we imagine would be the sound 
coming from the recesses of the lungs. 

What makes it probable there is no physiological 
grounds for the term tc voce di petto," is, that the 
voice produced by the disease in the larynx, fauces, 
and cavity of the nose, which is commonly called 
hoarseness or " a cold," has a fulness and a sonorous 
character like the hollow voice which seems to 
come from the chest. Actors of the first class, who 
have not naturally this full and sonorous quality, 
generally acquire it by well directed cultivation. I 



106 



OF THE MECHANISM 



know an actor of eminence, whose voice though 
highly agreeable, and well suited to the dignity of 
tragedy, appears in all its tonic sounds as if under 
the influence of a slight " cold:" and I have heard 
none, of high character, in whom an occasional syl- 
lable, at least, of this orotund hoarseness, if I may so 
call it, was not obvious. 

In a preceding page, I acknowledged my igno- 
rance of the mechanism and movements which pro- 
duce the orotund voice : and have set down some 
observations and queries that may draw the atten- 
tion and serve the purposes of others, better pre- 
pared than myself, in time and skill, to conduct the 
future inquiry on this subject. 

It was said that the best and the only pure in- 
stances of the orotund are the result of cultivation. 
I here propose to point out some elementary means 
by which this voice may be acquired. 

With slight attention, we may perceive two 
modes in the act of expiration: the one being a 
continued stream of air throughout the whole time 
of expiration : the other consisting in the issue of 
breath by short iterated jets. The first of these 
modes is that of ordinary breathing, panting, sigh- 
ing, groaning and sneezing. The second is em- 
ployed in laughing crying and speech.* 

* Laughing and Crying will be particularly noticed hereafter. 

Sighing and Groaning are of similar time : one being an atonic 
or whispered element, the other a tonic vocality. 

Sneezing is a continued expiration abruptly began; and gene- 
rally producing one of the elements. 

I say nothing here of the various modes of inspiration con- 
nected with these acts. 



OF THE VOICE. 107 

By our voluntary power over the muscles of re- 
spiration, the breath in speech is frugally dealt out 
to successive syllables, in such small portions as 
may be requisite for the time and force of each. 
By thus guarding against waste, the necessity of 
more frequent inspiration is obviated : and the abi- 
lity of pausing freely, in the course of expiration, 
between syllables and words, allows a consequent 
abrupt bursting of the voice whenever it is required 
for the purposes of speech. 

The act of coughing may be made either by a 
series of short abrupt efforts in expiration ; or by 
one continued impulse, which yields up with its 
sound, the whole of the breath of expiration. It is 
this last named mode that forms the basis of the art 
for acquiring the orotund voice. 

This single impulse of coughing, is an abrupt ut- 
terance of one of the short tonics, followed by a 
continuation of the mere atonic breathing " h," till 
the expiration is exhausted. Now let this compound 
function, consisting of the exploded vocality and 
subjoined aspiration, be changed to an entire vo- 
cality, by continuing the tonic in place of the aspi- 
ration. A kind of sound will thus be produced, 
which with proper cultivation, will make that full, 
deep quality of articulation, here denominated the 
orotund. 

The above mentioned contrived effort of utter- 
ance, when freed from the abruptness of coughing, 
is the kind of voice commonly united with gaping : 
for this has a hollow vocality, very different from 
the common colloquial utterance of tonic sounds. 



]0g OF THE MECHANISM 

Let this entire vocality of the cough, if it may 
be thus distinguished from the natural cough, which 
is part vocality and part aspira tion, — let it, I say, be 
practiced sufficiently, and the reader will find not 
only an increasing facility in forming this designed 
voice, but its clearness and smoothness, will be 
thereby improved. Let the voice be herein exer- 
cised by sliding upwards and downwards through 
the concrete scale, on each of the tonic elements ; 
drawing out the vocality to the utmost pressure of 
expiration* 

When the reader is able to utter perfectly the 
tonic elements, in the orotund voice, he may perhaps 
imagine himself qualified to speak in it. He may 
slowly pronounce single syllables in this manner ; 
each syllable consuming one entire issue of expira- 
tion : but when he attempts to deliver a sentence 
with the easy flow and time of ordinary discourse, 
his natural voice returns. The cause of this may 
be understood, by recurring to the distinction be- 
tween the two modes of expiration. For though 
the learner may acquire the art of making the oro- 
tund voice, in the continuous stream of vocality, he 
is not thereby able to join with that voice, an expi- 
ration consisting of interrupted jets, such as he uses 
in natural utterance, and w T hich are absolutely ne- 
cessary for easy and agreeable speech. Continued 
practice however, on one syllable, with the subse- 

*This process of forcing out the breath, to the seeming ex- 
haustion of the lungs, is apt to produce giddiness of the head. 
Care should therefore be taken, to avoid continuing the exercise 
of the voice too loug in this manner; and to desist for the time, 
after that affection comes on. 



OF THE VOICE. \QQ 

quent gradual addition of one and more, will in time 
bring the expiration of the orotund, under the same 
command as that of common speech. 

In acquiring this orotund expiration, the reader 
will perceive, that though he may by degrees gain 
the power of combining several syllables under 
a single expiration of this voice, yet his mode of 
using it, as regards the successions of pitch in a 
train of discourse, will not satisfy his ear. There 
will be a monotony in his utterance ; and he will 
not be able to make the proper vocal close at the 
end of a sentence. By practice, this difficulty too 
will be overcome, and an attainable accomplish- 
ment in this matter, will exhibit the same facility 
as in the varied movement of the natural voice. 

What I have here said of the orotund, is similar 
to the history of the early uses of the natural voice. 
The first cries of infants are made in the continued 
stream of expired vocality. It is a long time be- 
fore they employ the interrupted mode of expira- 
tion. The first speech of the child is made by the 
apportionment of a single syllable to one expiration. 
By a preparatory practice in the interrupted breath 
of laughing and crying, the habit of full and perfect 
speech is acquired. The same kind of monosylla- 
bic breath which belongs to infant speech, and to 
the first studies upon the orotund, takes place in 
the debility of extreme age, and in some states of 
severe disease. In each case, the utterance is made 
by one or at most two syllables to an act of expira- 
tion. The condition is similar in panting from vio- 
lent exercise ; for in this case, that voluntary power 



120 0F THE MECHANISM 

is lost, which governs the interrupted jets of expi- 
ration. 

The orotund voice is possessed in various degrees 
of excellence by actors of eminence. I am unable to 
state what are their means for acquiring it, when 
not naturally possessed ; if indeed they have any 
that are systematic. The simple practice of the 
voice, is not quite sufficient to account for the at- 
tainment j since conversation and the oratorical du- 
ties of some professions require frequent employ- 
ment of the voice, which notwithstanding remains 
in its natural state. There is however one circum- 
stance in theatrical speech, which may undesign- 
edly produce, in the course of time, the full volume 
and solemn gravity of the orotund. In addition 
therefore to the previously described means for ob- 
taining this voice, I shall in a few words point out 
another mode, suggested by the vehement action of 
dramatic recitation. 

Let the reader make an expiration on the inter- 
jection " hah" in the voice of whisper ; doing it 
with that degree of force, which with some motion 
of the chest, seems to drive all the air out of it. Now, 
all other conditions of the process remaining the 
same, let the whisper be changed to vocality. This 
utterance will have the fulness, the gravity and the 
ringing of the orotund, and will seem to come from 
the chest. This is the vocal characteristic which 
belongs to vociferations : for if the violent exertion 
does not assume the false tte form of a yell or 
scream, the force of voice is otherwise most strong- 
ly exhibited, by the above mentioned mode. Emi- 



OF THE VOICE. ]H 

Dent actors have a quickness, energy and delicacy 
of feeling. The force of voice which feeling prompts 
them to exert in their early efforts, leads them in- 
stinctivelv to that mode of utterance which I have 
endeavoured to illustrate, by means of the vocality 
of the interjection " hah :" and I shall show in a 
future section, that the junction of a certain de- 
gree of aspiration with the tonic elements, is one of 
the ways of earnest and energetic expression. The 
continual utterance of the forcible sentiments of 
the drama, joined to the power required by the di- 
mensions of a theatre, produces that kind of effort 
of expiration which leads the speaker to the attain- 
ment of the orotund voice. This mode of produc- 
tion suggests the usefulness of strenuous exertion of 
the organs, on the kind of function above described. 

It is not to be supposed that the full, hollow and 
ringing sound of this voice is always of the same 
pure quality. It varies through every degree, 
from the highest point of excellence down to the 
natural voice : and is modified by being more or 
less free from aspiration ; more or less articulate ; 
more or less reedy, or smooth 5 more or less free 
from nasal notes; more or less brilliant, or dull, or 
strong. 

If it should be asked — what advantage is to be 
gained by the care and labor here enjoined, for ac- 
quiring this improved quality of the speaking voice? 
I answer 

First. The mere sound is more musical than that 
of the common voice: since it partakes of the sound 
of the reed, horn, flute and musical glass, according 



112 OF THE MECHANISM 

to the degree or peculiarity of its excellence. There 
are voices which in comparison with the full sono- 
rousness of a fine orotund, exhibit scarcely more 
musical qualities than the sound of a hammer on a 
block. A musical voice is well suited to display 
the delicate structure of the vanishing movement ; 
since the finished execution of its termination essen- 
tially requires a smoothness in quality. This char- 
acter of the voice is so alluring, that it often catches 
the ear and the approbation of such limited obser- 
vers as seem insensible to the highest accomplish- 
ments in pronunciation, pause, quality and intona- 
tion. I have known the redeeming influence of a 
musical voice, create a fame for its possessor 5 who 
in the other essentials of good reading was even 
below mediocrity. It is this quality which gives 
the finishing beauty to the other excellencies of the 
first class of actors. In the female voice it is most 
obvious and delightful. 

Secondly. The orotund is fuller than the common 
voice: and as its smoothness gives a delicate attenu- 
ation to the vanishing movement, its fulness, with 
no less appropriate effect, displays the stronger 
body of the radical. 

Thirdly. It has a pureness of vocality that gives 
distinctness to pronunciation. For when completely 
formed, it is free from the dulness and obscurity 
belonging to the nasal and the aspirated sound: the 
husky offensiveness of which is well exemplified 
by the union of these functions in Snoring. 

Fourthly. It has a greater degree of strength than 
the common voice. In this respect it partakes of the 



OF THE VOICE. 113 

nature of things which are perfect in their kind. 
The ear seems filled with its volume and asks for 
no more of it. 

Fifthly. The orotund is more under the command 
of the will than the common voice : and is conse- 
quently more efficient and precise in the production 
of long quantities in the concrete •, in varying the 
force of the voice ; in swelling •, in executing the 
functions of the tremulous scale, and in performing 
all the other varieties of expressive intonation. 

Sixthly. It is the only kind of voice appropriate 
to the master stile of epic and dramatic reading. 
Through it alone, the actor consummates the out- 
ward sign of the dignity and energy of his conception. 
The impressive authority and stately elegance of 
this voice exceed as measurably, the meaner sounds 
of ordinary discourse, as the superlative pictures 
of the poet, and the broad wisdom of the sage re- 
spectively transcend the poor originals of life, and 
all their wretched policies. It is the only voice ca- 
pable of fulfilling the majesty of Shakspeare and 
Milton. 

Finally. As the orotund does not destroy the 
ability to use at will the common voice, it may be 
imagined how their contrasted employment may 
add the resource of vocal light and shade, if I may 
so speak, to the other means of oratorical coloring 
and design. 

In closing the subject of this section, I cannot 
avoid expressing a fear that the foregoing descrip- 
tions have not been sufficiently explanatory of the 
means which I believe to be true, and sufficient for 



114 0F THE MECHANISM OF THE VOICE. 

success. If the definitions and arrangements will 
be found to be intelligible, I shall rejoice in the ac- 
complishment of a heart-felt design. If the reader's 
ambition is industrious, he may perhaps effect the 
purpose of instruction from what is here told. If 
his ambition is inventive, he will in the pursuit of 
this subject, discover other more sure and shorter 
means. 



SECTION VI. 

Of the Melody of speech ; together with an inquiry 
how far the musical terms Key and Modulation 
are applicable to it. 

When the nature of the radical and vanishing 
movement was described, it was regarded individu- 
ally, or as applied to a single syllable. But as 
speech consists for the most part, of a series of syl- 
lables, on each of which the concrete function of 
the voice instinctively occurs ; it is necessary to con- 
sider the use and relationships of the radical and 
vanish, in their aggregate application to the many 
syllables of a sentence. 

In plain narrative or description, the concrete 
utterance of each syllable is made through the in- 
terval of a tone; and the successive concretes have 
a difference of pitch, relatively to each other. The 
appropriation of these concretes to syllables, and 
the manner in which the succession of their pitch 
is varied, are exemplified in the following notation: 

He reads in na tures in fi nite 




book of se ere cy 



If these lines and the included spaces be sup- 



115 OF THE DIATONIC 

posed, each in proximate order, to denote the dif- 
ference of a tone in pitch, the successions of the 
radical points, with their issuing vanish, will show 
the places of the syllables of the superscribed sen- 
tence, in easy and unexceptionable utterance. The 
perception of the effect of the successions here ex- 
emplified, is called the Melody of speech. 

The strict definition of the melody of speech em- 
braces the doctrine of time and pause : but as the 
symbols of these functions will not be given in this 
essay, and as the nature of each will be described 
hereafter, under a distinct head, the subject of the 
present section is limited to the development of the 
principles of intonation, and to the illustration of 
these principles by the linear notation. 

An accurate perception of the difference of pitch 
in melody can be obtained only by close observa- 
tion, and by well devised experiments. The inqui- 
rer should be able to rise and descend through the 
musical scale, on any one of the tonic elements. 
He should then traverse the octave, both ascending 
and descending, on any eight successive syllables, 
selected from common discourse ; using a different 
syllable for each note of the scale. This exercise 
will in due time enable him to recognize the inter- 
vals of a tone, a third, a fifth, and an octave, when 
the intonation is made on the passing syllables of 
speech. Being thus prepared, let him try to ana- 
lyze the above example, when made in his own 
style of utterance •, for I cannot suppose him yet 
able to follow the notation. With this view, let 
him move slowly through the sentence, sounding 



MELODY OF SPEECH. ]17 

only the tonic element of each syllable ; and ut- 
tering those elements in their shortest abrupt 
sound $ so that the reading, if I may so call it, may 
resemble the successions of a short cough. This 
method will make the variations of pitch more dis- 
tinct than when all the letters of the syllables are 
pronounced. 

If this contrived utterance should not afford a 
clear perception whether a given syllable rises or 
falls a tone, from the place of the preceding sound, 
let him measure the questionable relations of the 
two sounds, by the rule of the scale, in the follow- 
ing manner. Whilst he utters these sounds as if he 
was reading, let him keep them in notice as parts 
of the scale. If the second be above the first, he 
will perceive that the ascent, by those two sounds, 
forms the two first steps or notes of the rising scale. 
If the second be below the first, he will, on the 
addition of one more tone below the second, re- 
cognize that peculiar effect which belongs to the 
close of the scale, and to the fall of the voice at a 
period of discourse : for this effect can take place 
only upon a descent of the voice. In the use of the 
means here directed, the ear must, with divided 
attention, be directed at the same time, to the pro- 
gress of the melody, and to the successions of pitch 
in the musical scale. 

In order to render the system of melody intelli- 
gible, we may consider the succession of its sounds 
as subdivided into that which takes place in the 
major part of the sentence, and that which occurs 
on a shorter portion at its termination. These divi- 



118 OF THE DIATONIC 

sions, may be otherwise termed, the Current melo- 
dy and the melody of the Cadence. 

The current melody, or that succession of rise 
and fall which is made on all the syllables of a sen- 
tence, except the three last, exhibits the following 
phenomena. 

In simple phraseology, which conveys no feeling 
or emphatic sentiment, every syllable consists of 
the upward radical and vanishing tone. The suc- 
cession of these concrete tones is made with a va- 
riation of pitch, in which any two proximate con- 
cretes never differ more than the interval of a tone 
above or below each other. 

To distinguish these two modes of melodial pro- 
gression by short and referrible terms, let us call the 
rise of each syllable the Concrete Pitch of melody ; 
and the place that each syllable assumes above or 
below the preceding, the Radical Pitch. Thus in 
the foregoing example of notation everyone of the 
syllables has the concrete pitch of a tone: the two 
composing the word "nature,'' differ from each 
other in their radical pitch, whilst that of the three 
syllables of " infinite'' is the same. 

It will be shown hereafter in its proper place, 
that the melody employed at some of the pauses in 
a loose sentence, require a certain succession of ra- 
dical pitch, for the clear representation of the sense 
of discourse. But the parts contained within the 
divisions, made by these pauses, have no fixed 
mode of arrangement : for the effect will be natural 
and agreeable, if the melody of these parts is made 
by avoiding a continuation of the same radical pitch, 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 



119 



or an alternate rising and falling, or any other pro- 
gression of remarkable regularity. I offer here 
three different notations of the same sentence, in 
which the above cautions are observed, and in each 
of which the melody has a natural construction. 



He ne ver drinks, but Ti— mon's sil ver 



4 4 4 * -*-* 



treads up on his lip 




He ne — ver 


drinks 


but 


Ti — mon's sil — ver 


4 * * 


W 


4 


4 -r d s 





treads 


up on his lip 


-4- 


* * 4 


K 



He 


ne ver 


drinks, 


but 


Ti — mon's sil — ver 




4 4 


4 




* 4 4 * 





treads up -on his lip 



There are other modes in which an agreeable 
melody might be framed for this sentence, on the 



\2Q OF THE DIATONIC 

principles of this noted relationship. The princi- 
ples of this relationship consist in the succession of 
certain aggregates of the concrete tones, which 
may be called the Phrases of melody : their varied 
sequences making the agreeable style of speech. 

These phrases may be designated thus: when 
two or more concretes occur successively on the 
same place of radical pitch, it may be called the 
phrase of the Monotone. 

When a concrete is above or below a preceding 
one, the phrases may be termed respectively, the 
Rising and the Falling ditone. 

When three concretes successively ascend — the 
Rising Tritone. 

When there is a train of three or more, alter- 
nately a tone above and below each other, it may 
be called an Alternation or the Alternate phrase. 

When three concretes gradually descend in their 
radical pitch, at the close of a sentence, the phrase 
may be distinctively termed the Triad of the ca- 
dence. This is indeed a falling tritone, but as it does 
not occur in the current melody, and is only found 
in the final close, I have chosen to contradistinguish 
it by the term Triad. 

The form of these phrases is pointed out on the 
notation of the following lines j where the current 
is constructed in a manner not unsuitable to the 
simple narrative of the couplet : though here, as 
in some other instances of this essay, the melody 
is made with a view to illustrate description, rather 
than to furnish examples of appropriate elocution. 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 



121 



That quarter 


most 


the 


skil- 


-fill 


Greeks 


an--noy, 


\* * f 


4 


4 


• 


f 


4 


-r # 


1* * • 









Monotone. Rising- Ditone. Alternation. 

Where yon wild fig- trees join the wails of Trov, 

-r ir -r 



JEZTJL 



Itising Tritone. Falling Ditone. Triad ot the Cadcuce. 

I have not been able to discover that the melody 
of plain narrative or description is resolvable into 
more than these six phrases. It will be learned 
hereafter when we speak of the cadence, why there 
can be no element in the current melody of more 
than two downward tones: and perhaps the construc- 
tion of the musical scale may furnish a reason, why 
no rising phrase can contain more constituents than 
the tritone. 

The three first notes of the scale embrace the 
interval of two whole tones. If we pass from the 
third to the fourth, the transition is by a semitone. 
The semitone has its peculiar expression in speech, 
and consequently its appointed place ; but is inad- 
missible into the plain discourse of which we are 
now treating. The habit of the succession of the 
musical scale is so fixed in the ear, that if there was 
a phrase of melody consisting of four rising consti- 
tuents, the last would unavoidably be a semitone : 
and the series, so constituted, would have the effect 
of the four first notes of the scale, when sung di- 
rectly ascending in quick time. This phrase of song 

R 



122, OF THE DIATONIC 

would, in its place, destroy the characteristic me- 
lody of speech. 

The three examples given in a preceding page, 
of the varied current melody of the same sentence, 
and the intimation that even in that short sentence, 
the phrases might be further agreeably diversified, 
enable us to understand why, an accomplished 
speaker never offends the ear, by a monotonous 
continuation of the same radical pitch, or by formal 
returns of similar progressions. For notwithstand- 
ing the pitch is necessarily limited to the variety 
afforded by the rise and fall of a single tone, yet the 
different phrases of melody, and their practicable 
changes, furnish sequences of dissimilar passages, 
quite sufficient to prevent a recognition of identity 
in the succession. The ear of a skilful speaker is 
always on the watch against the faults of monotony, 
from closely repeated phrases : and there are 
enough variable elements to afford an easy exemp- 
tion from them. The principle that governs the 
construction of the successions of pitch in the 
melody of speech, is similar to that which directs 
the arrangement of varied accent, and quantity, in 
the rhythmus of harmonious prose. Excellence in 
each is the work of a delicate and discerning ear: 
and its habitual and almost involuntary judgment is 
not less effective in one instance, by securing the 
beauties of a varied intonation, than in the other, 
by rejecting the prosodial measures of acknowledg- 
ed verse. 

The melody of speech is made by movements of 
the voice, partly in the concrete and partly in the 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 123 

discrete scale. The radical and vanish of each syl- 
lable is strictly concrete. The transition from one 
syllable to another partakes in some instances of the 
nature of a concrete junction. Thus, in the first 
diagram of this section, the vanish of the syllable 
" he" rises through the interval of a tone. The 
radical of " reads" begins on the place at which 
the preceding vanish ends : for though the ful- 
ness of the radical sound broadly distinguishes it 
from the fine termination of the antecedent vanish, 
and notwithstanding there is a momentary interrup- 
tion of the line of sound, yet there is an appearance 
of one kind of continuity between them. The transi- 
tion of the melody from the syllable " in" to " na" 
is by the discrete scale : for the radical of " na" be- 
gins a whole tone below the radical of " in," and 
the change from the vanish of " in" is here made 
without the downward continuity of the concrete 
scale. In a general view of this subject, it may be 
stated, that the constituents of the phrases of the 
rising ditone and tritone are joined by the imper- 
fect kind of concrete spoken of above. In the mo- 
notone and falling ditone the transition is made by 
the discrete scale. It will be readily acknowledged 
that the changes of pitch after a cadence or full 
stop, must be by the discrete scale. 

If the foregoing description of the successions of 
pitch in plain narrative, is correct, we may upon 
strict etymology, call the sum of those successions, 
the Diatonic melody of speech. For in the first 
place, the vanish of each separate concrete rises 
through the space of a tone; and secondly, the 



124 OF THE DIATONIC 

changes of radical pitch are made through the same 
interval. 

These two functions, the first having the pecu- 
liar characteristic of the equable rise, are the mate- 
rial points that distinguish the melody of speech 
from that of song. 

There are two kinds of succession in song : the 
first by conjoint degrees, or the change of the note 
from one place on the scale, to another immediately 
above or below it ; the second by skips as they are 
called, or by transitions from a given place, to any 
other except the proximate. 

The melody of speech does employ both these 
modes of succession : but that by skips is of more 
rare occurrence than in song. 

In treating hereafter of the nature of emphasis, 
and of interrogative sentences, the occasions and 
manner of using these wider changes of radical 
pitch will be shown. The melody of simple narra- 
tive or inexpressive speech, now before us, always 
moves by conjoint degrees. 

I proceed to analyze the intonation, applied to 
the final syllables of a sentence; and which, from 
its position and peculiar nature, I have contradistin- 
guished as the melody of the cadence. If the eight 
notes of the musical diatonic scale be uttered, both 
ascending and descending, by a repetition of the 
word " cordova," the appropriation of syllables will 
be thus : cor-do-va cor-do-va cor-do : and descend- 
ing, cor-do cor-do-va cor do-va. By thus sol-faing, 
if I may so speak, on these syllables, the last repeti- 
tion of the word in the descent, is allotted to the 



MELODY OF SPEECH. \2b 

three lower notes of the scale : and produces the 
full close of its key note. In this experiment, I have 
supposed the intonation to be made by the note of 
song ; as it would certainly be so made, by a person 
familiar with the scale. If the experimenter, whilst 
descending, can change these three notes of song 
to the equable concrete of speech, he will perceive 
an identity of effect between this mode of descent, 
and the utterance of the same word, at the full pe- 
riod of a paragraph. From this and other trials it 
may be learned, that the melody of the cadence is 
always made on the three closing tones of the down- 
ward scale.* 

But the most remarkable effect of the cadence 
. lies in another point. I have represented all the 
radical sounds of the current melody as terminating 
in a rising vanish ; and this, indeed, is the course of 
the voice in the utterance of every syllable, except 
the movement be otherwise directed for some pe- 
culiar purpose. Now one purpose of a contrary 
movement is, to bring the current of the voice to 
a close; and with this intention, the last constituent 
or lowest tone of the cadence is made by a feeble 
downward vanish. It is this mode of the concrete, 
so easily distinguishable in this place from the rising 
vanish, that produces the effect of the period or 
close of the voice at the end of a sentence : and that 
constitutes, in connection with the series of three 

*The critical reader must bear in mind, that I say three tones, 
in reference to the three concretes of the spoken cadence, since, 
in a musical sense, the three lower sounds of the scale, contain 
the interval of two tones onlv. 



126 OF THE DIATONIC 

descending radicals, the essential characteristic of 
the cadence. 

The reason now appears, why the falling tritone 
cannot be used in the current melody, since it 
would produce an unmeaning termination of dis- 
course. It may be supposed that a downward tri- 
tone could have a place in the current melody, if 
the downward vanish were not applied to its last 
constituent. The fallacy of this supposition may be 
shown by experiment : for on giving the rising van- 
ish to the lowest constituent of the tritone, we do 
violence to the tendency of the voice to a close on 
that constituent ; and create still stronger solicitude 
to make the next tone below, the satisfactory down- 
ward vanish of the cadence. 

Whether this triform nature of the cadence, and 
its exclusion from the current melody, proceed 
from the habit of the musical scale on the ear, simi- 
lar to that which prevents a greater rise than of 
three tones ; or whether these circumstances are 
resolvable into some hidden instinct of the voice, I 
will not decide. 

It was stated above, that each syllable of the cur- 
rent melody has a radical and vanishing tone ap- 
propriated to it. The parts of the cadence are not 
so apportioned. Let us, for the sake of reference, 
designate the constituents of the cadence by the 
names of their numeral positions. 

In the First form of the cadence, the first, second 
and third constituent, each has a corresponding syl- 
lable, as in the following notation: 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 127 

Sweet is the breath of morn. 




The Second form has a similar appropriation of 
concretes to syllables ; with a downward vanish on 
each constituent, as: 

The air was fanned by un — num — ber'd plumes. 



* 4*~* 



In the Third form, the first and second are allotted 
to a single syllable, as: 

With tur — ret crest and sleek en — am — ell'd neck. 



* * 4 * 4 4* 



In the Fourth form, the second and third coalesce 
on one syllable, as: 



The 


mean ing, 


not 


the 


name, 


I 


call. 


f 








4 


4 


H^-- 




+ * 



In the Fifth, the three constituents are appropria- 
ted to one long syllable. It is unnecessary to illus- 
trate this by a visible scheme. 

In the Sixth form, which should properly be call- 
ed a false cadence, the second constituent is omitted, 
as in the following notation : 

Of wiles, more in ex — pert, I boast 



not. 



4 4 4 4 



This takes place when the ultimate and penul- 
timate syllables of a sentence are each so short, that 



12S OF THE DIATONIC 

giving either the length of two conjoined concretes, 
would deform pronunciation. 

In this example, the proper triad should be 
made by a successive descent of three tones on the 
words "I boast not." If from unskilful management 
of the voice, a reader should neglect to set the syl- 
lable " boast," in the radical pitch of a tone below 
u I," he will not be able to complete the cadence, 
by the downward prolongation of the short sylla- 
ble " not'' through the interval of two tones, as is 
done on a long syllable, in the fourth form of the 
cadence. But a full close cannot be made without 
the third constituent, or an extension of the second 
in a downward vanish through its place : and as the 
syllable " not," on account of its short time, cannot 
assume this last condition, the second constituent 
must be omitted, and a defective cadence made by 
a skip to the last place of the triad. 

From this analysis of the cadence, we have learn- 
ed that its construction involves the consideration 
of the time of syllables. The first or tripartite form 
may be used under any condition of quantity; but 
if the three, or even the two last syllables should 
be short, and incapable of prolongation, it is the 
only applicable mode. The same remark may be 
made upon the second form. When the penultimate 
is long, the third form may be used : and the fourth 
and fifth each requires a long quantity in the final 
syllable. 

Of the six described forms of the cadence, all 
except the last make natural and agreeable closes; 
but the first and second, which proceed by an equal 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 129 

number of concretes and syllables are of the easiest 
execution. The third, fourth and fifth, which con- 
join two and three concretes respectively on a single 
syllable, require a facility in the management of 
quantity, rarely possessed by common readers. 
Skill in the art of employing at will the time of ut- 
terance, enables an accomplished reader to perform 
with equal ease and elegance, these four varieties 
of cadence. By a command over quantity he may 
give a faultless close, however unexpectedly he may 
meet with a period in discourse : whilst the ordi- 
nary reader frequently fails in his final melody , from 
being limited to the use of the tripartite cadence. 
For should his current melody be so continued that 
a monotone or rising ditone reaches to the penulti- 
mate syllable, his cadence will necessarily be awk- 
ward or false. The last described form of the ca- 
dence, which is not uncommon with the mass of 
speakers, is strictly forbidden by the rule of a good 
composition in melody. 

The fifth mode of the cadence, which consists in 
the application of the three constituents to the last 
syllable, is distinguished from the other forms by a 
peculiarity of function. It appears in the notation, 
that the voice does pass through the same places of 
pitch, as when the cadence is made in the first or 
tripartite mode : but it appears also from the 
scheme, that the full radicals of the second and third 
constituents are not given. Now it is the fulness of 
the radical which draws the attention of the ear to 
the changes of the pitch of melody, and which con- 
spicuously marks the descent of the triad. The 



Iqq OF THE DIATONIC 

omission therefore of the radicals of the second and 
third concretes, in the fifth form of the cadence, 
lessens the impressiveness of the close, and sug- 
gests a twofold distinction as regards its effect on 
the ear. When the close is made, as in the fifth form, 
by one downward concrete without the full radi- 
cals of the second and third constituents, it may be 
called the Feeble cadence: and the Full cadence, 
when the proper radical of the third constituent is 
heard on the ultimate syllable. The full cadence 
is delineated in the first, second and third forms 
noted above, and the feeble is described in the 
fifth. When the reader can follow the notation, he 
will perceive a difference between the effects of the 
fifth and the others ; and he will admit that the tri- 
partite form of the full cadence produces the feeling 
of the most complete repose. 

In the representations of the cadence, it does ap- 
pear that the Tripartite form traverses the interval 
of a fourth : whereas the Feeble includes only a 
third, which I have said is the proper space of the 
cadence. In calculating the dimensions of the tri- 
partite, the radicals only are taken, as it is these that 
strongly mark the close ; the last downward vanish 
which makes the surplus in the case, seeming by 
its faintness to justify its rejection from the mea- 
surement. 

The proper construction of the cadence is of the 
first importance in the melody of speech. The triad 
possessing the peculiar attractions of a key note, 
and occurring more rarely than the other phrases, 
it more emphatically affects the ear; whilst its 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 131 

position at the end of a sentence, subjects it to a 
critical examination, in the leisure of the conse- 
quent pause. It is well known to those who have 
observed learners, that the proper management of 
the descent of the voice in reading, is acquired 
with difficulty, and often not until long after the 
current melody is practicable without any impor- 
tant error. I have known offensive deviations from 
the true rule of the cadence, committed by actors 
of long practice and considerable skill, who would 
have guarded their melody against the alleged 
faults, if their studies, instead of being compiled 
from imitation, had been directed by those princi- 
ples, which well observed nature informs us should 
govern the high accomplishments of speech. 

In the first section of this essay, I endeavoured 
to explain the meaning of the word key, as sig- 
nificative of a certain arrangement of the elements 
of the musical scale ; and I now proceed to inquire 
with what propriety the term is applied to the me- 
lodial ranges of the speaking voice. 

The term key, in an absolute sense, means the 
proper succession of tones and semitones in the dia- 
tonic musical scale ; but when used with the wider 
latitude of a generic appellation, it includes several 
species of a similar order of successions, carried on 
from each of the notes and subdivided tones of the 
scale, as the beginning of those similar orders. It 
follows that there must be as many keys, as there 
are places in the scale from which the orders of 
successions may commence. Now the natural scale 
consists of seven notes, which, with the addition of 



132 0P THE DIATONIC 

the octave, include between them a series of five 
whole tones and two semitones. In one mode of 
the scale a semitone lies between the third and 
fourth notes, and between the seventh and the oc- 
tave ; constituting the kind of succession called the 
major scale or mode. In the other a semitone lies 
between the second and third notes, and the fifth 
and sixth in descending the scale, and between the 
second and third, and the seventh and eighth in 
ascending; forming the succession of the minor 
mode. If then the whole tones of these scales be 
divided into semitones, it will make the places of 
twelve notes in each mode, for the commencement 
of twenty -four different keys. 

The melody of music, whether in the major or 
the minor scale, is made by progressions, both of 
skips and conjoint degrees, through the series of 
five tones and two semitones in any given key ; and 
the song or the movement, so constructed, is termi- 
nated with entire satisfaction to the ear, when it is 
brought to a close on the first point of the series 
which is called the key note. 

The melody of plain narrative speech is made by 
progressions of conjoint degrees only ; and its satis- 
factory close at a period of discourse, is effected by 
the successive descent of three concretes. The 
scale of the speaking voice has no interspersed se- 
mitones ; nor is it limited, like the musical scale, to 
a peculiar arrangement of seven constituent inter- 
vals. If we suppose a person to possess the ability 
of speaking distinctly through a compass of ten 
diatonic degrees, included between the lowest 



MELODY OF SPEECH. J 33 

pitch of articulate utterance and the highest point 
of the natural voice, the melody may, by the use of 
proper phrases, be carried through any wandering 
course of ascent and descent, within these bounda- 
ries. Let the speaker take the first syllable of a 
sentence, on the first place of this supposed range. 
A ditone will raise the melody to the second, and 
an additional concrete, on that second place, will 
make the phrase of the monotone. From this, a 
ditone will lead him upwards to the third place ; 
and in like manner ascending, the melody may be 
carried to the tenth place. Now from this utmost 
elevation, a falling ditone will bring him to the 
ninth : a monotone on this will prepare the voice 
for another ditone descent to the eighth. Having 
by a similar progress reached the third, a down- 
ward tritone or the triad of the cadence, with the 
deflexure of its final constituent, will close the me- 
lody on the first. 

In this exemplar scheme, I have conducted the 
melody formally up and down, in order to eluci- 
date the means of changing the pitch, without the 
forbidden movement of several directly successive 
rising or falling concretes. But it is due to remark 
that the rising tritone may also be used in ascend- 
ing ; that the progress may be varied by using, at 
will, a longer monotone, and by deferring the rise 
or fall, by the occasional employment of a phrase 
of contrary movement. It is by avoiding an ascent 
of more than three concretes in succession and of 
more than two in descent, that the desirable changes 
through acuteness and gravity in speech, may be 



134 OF THE DIATONIC 

effected, in an easy and agreeable manner : for the 
beauty of melody consists, not only in skilfully va- 
rying the order of phrases, as they move onwards, 
but likewise in correctly managing the rise and fall 
through the whole compass of pitch. The following 
notation shows the progress of the voice, through a 
compass of nine diatonic degrees : the rule of the 
rise and fall being observed, and the melody being 
therein agreeably diversified. 



If 


thou 


dOBt 


slan 


der ber 


and 


tor — ture me, 




-^ 






W 




W w 


•r 


4 - * 


jf IT 



Ne—ver 


pray 


more: 


a ban-don 


all 


re morse; 




* 4 


tf 


A 


- 4 


4 


* «r 




w 


^ 


4 J m 









On 


bor — 


-ror's 


head 


hor rors 


ac ■ cu — mu late; 




-4f- 


¥ 


¥ 


-*— 


• 4 


• 4 * 




m w * 





Do 


deeds to make 


Hea-ven weep, all 


earth 


a — mazed ; 




4 


f* * * 


4 


* * 


mf 


tf * 9 






^ 


-w — 





For no-thing 


canst 


thou to 


dam — na — tion 


add, 


W r 


* rf tf 


tf 


^r # 


-r mf w 




~ w ••^^ 





Great er 


than 


that. 








4 tf 


w 9 * - 






•v 





The above notation is restricted to an exemplifi 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 135 

cation of the means for moving through the com- 
pass of tbe voice. If this were the place to speak 
of the emphatic expression of this forcible passage, 
other modes of both the radical and concrete pitch 
would be used and explained. Those points will 
be considered hereafter. At the two colon pauses, 
which in correct reading will not bear a full close, 
I have set the less conspicuous interruption of the 
feeble cadence. 

From the foregoing account of the musical and 
speaking scales, it may be learned that though their 
respective constituent intervals and melodial pro- 
gressions differ from each other; yet with reference 
to the philosophic sense of the word key, there is 
some discoverable similarity between them. For 
since the descent of three concretes in speech, with 
a downward vanish on the last, always produces the 
cadence or reaches the consummation of the key 
note 5 it follows that in a voice, with a compass of 
ten diatonic degrees, as above supposed, every de- 
gree, except the two highest, may be the place of 
a key note : and consequently, that this voice might 
be said to have eight keys. But there is a difficulty 
in the specification of the keys of spoken melody, 
which cannot be obviated. When a musical melody 
is said to be in a particular key, the expression is 
definite, and the picture of the thought is clear to 
those who are acquainted with the system of the 
musical scale. The melody of speech cannot be 
said, with precision, to be in any one key, except 
the assertion be made of the phrase of the mono- 
tone, since the constituents of this phrase alone have 



136 OF THE DIATOiNIC 

the same key note. If a cadence is made on any 
of the other phrases, the triad which leads to a close 
from one of its constituents, must differ from the 
triad falling from another. 

Such being the fruitless purpose of attempting 
to designate the key of a single phrase, how much 
more indefinitely must a particular key be affirmed 
of a current melody, composed of a continually vary- 
ing succession of phrases. Definitiveness of key 
may be affirmed of the cadence, because the suc- 
cession of its concretes, and the place of its key 
note are unalterably fixed. Looking on the triad 
as determining the key, a particular key may be 
appropriated to each individual concrete ; and con- 
sequently the key of a current melody must per- 
petually change. If therefore any reference is made 
to the key, the proper designation should be, by the 
plural term, keys of the melod} 7 . 

The peculiar structure of the musical scale ; the 
necessity for rules to govern the changes from one 
key to another ; the purposes of concerting and of 
harmonical composition, led to the definite nomen- 
clature and arrangement of musical keys. But 
should the doctrine of key be at all kept in view, 
in the art of speaking, the purely diatonic structure 
of the scale, and, if I dare so compound terms, the 
strict solo-vocal office of speech, perhaps call for no 
nearer precision than a classification into the upper, 
middle and lower keys of the voice. 

From this view of the speaking voice, it may be 
understood, why in the notation of its melody I have 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 137 

used only the staff of the musical tablature, without 
reference to its cliffs or its signatures. Cliffs are 
used in music for purposes of concerting ; by deter- 
mining with precision the proper places of pitch 
for several voices or instruments, when moving in 
accompaniment. They are therefore useless to the 
singleness of speech. The melody of speech being 
altogether diatonic, has no rule for constructing 
keys, arising out of the fixed places of the semitones, 
as in the musical scale. Consequently there is no 
need of the prefixed signatures of flats and sharps: 
the naked lines and spaces of the staff, denoting the 
extent and relationships of pitch, afford sufficient, 
means for illustrating the intonation of speech. 

The term modulation is used, in music, to signify 
the transitions of melody and of harmonic compo- 
sition, from one key to another. The question of 
the propriety of this term, as significative of analo- 
gous changes in the melody of speech, is involved 
in the question of the propriety of the application 
of the musical term key to the mere variations of 
pitch in the speaking voice : and we have seen the 
almost universal difference between the regular 
system of keys in music and the melodial method of 
speech. 

The preceding remarks, on the musical and 
speaking scales, were intended to exhibit the rela- 
tionships between their respective functions: but 
it appears from comparison that there is no system- 
atic analogy to justify the transfer of the terms key 
and modulation from music to speech. The trans- 
fer was, however, long ago made, and the terms 

T 



138 OF THE DIATONIC 

are still continued under a total ignorance of the 
nature of the speaking scale. When the truth of 
the analysis, set forth in this section, will be admit- 
ted, it shall be obligatory on all those who take de- 
light in accuracy of knowledge, to distinguish, by 
appropriate names, those ideas which negligence 
will have suffered to pass as identical. If the mu- 
sical terms key and modulation had not received 
an unmeaning admission into the nomenclature of 
the speaking voice, the description of its melody 
would not, in these last pages, have been compli- 
cated with the record of the waste work of investi- 
gation, which the inquirer loves to expunge and 
forget, after he has made out the simple story of 
truth. And had the hitherto untried subject of 
melody been happily exculpated from the preju- 
dice and false witnessing of its adopted nomencla- 
ture, the unargued and unbiassed history of its 
changes would have been given thus : — 

The melody of the speaking voice, may be led, 
ascending and descending, through its whole com- 
pass, by a certain mode of diatonic succession : and 
may be brought to the satisfactory close, heard at 
the full period of discourse, by a descent of three 
concretes, from any point within the compass. 

If I have not here followed the prefered brevity, 
nor omitted the detail which produced the conclu- 
sion that the doctrine of key and modulation is 
hardly applicable to speech 5 it was because I cer- 
tainly anticipated the inquiries which the habit of 
nomenclature would suggest; and because I chose, 
perhaps advantageously, to introduce, into the re- 



MELODY OF SPEECH. 130 

corded investigation, some further or varied views 
upon the melody of speech. 

In reviewing the subject just closed, I fear the 
described phenomena of sound, may not be imme* 
diately recognised, nor the system of their combina- 
tion definitely comprehended. These defaults may 
proceed not only from the inaptitude of the mind 
to embrace newly offered subjects of knowledge, 
but likewise from the connected system of such 
subjects being dimly arrayed before the very sight 
which was able to discover their insulated truths. 
The art of observation is but a matter of appren- 
ticeship and practice ; and it is the time of employ 
no less than the mode of handling, that makes the 
finished work of a master. Thoughts that are not 
impressed by the deep sealing of time, nor famili- 
arized by the near acquaintance of habit, are weak 
or deluding agents in the clear work of comparison 
and arrangement : for it will be found that the au- 
thor who makes or renovates a science, rarely adds 
the best economy of system tb his work. To look 
widely, yet closely, is the paradox of the powers 
of heaven : and he who can span the broad compass 
of a science, whilst he touches its divisions and 
points, is partially separated from the frailty of 
humanity, by this humble tendency towards omni- 
science. To him is due that rich complement by 
the sagacious Greek, who knowing on what point to 
affix the crown of intellectual glory, declared, that 
he who could arrange and define well, was fit 
company for the Gods. 



SECTION VII. 



Of the Expression of Speech. 

In the preceding section I pointed out the 
mode of utterance in plain narrative and descrip- 
tion : comprehending under these terms that por- 
tion of discourse, which conveys the mere thoughts 
of the speaker, exclusively of those sentiments or 
feelings which require a different form of melody 
and a higher coloring of intonation. Schoolmen 
make a distinction between thoughts and feelings, 
and common usage has adopted their language. 
This is not the place for controversy on this point : 
nor is it necessary to inquire, deliberately, whether 
the above distinction refers to the essential nature 
of the things or to their degrees. Some whose 
powers of analysis enable them to see beyond the 
common reach, may be disposed to adopt the sys- 
tem that supposes thoughts and feelings to be vari- 
ous degrees of intensity in ideas : since that func- 
tion which may be noted as a mere thought in one, 
has in another, from a further urging, and not from 
a difference of motive, the bright hue of a feeling ; 
and since in the same person, at different times, 
like circumstances, produce, according to the va- 
ried susceptibility of excitement, the mental con- 



OF THE EXPRESSION OF SPEECH. J4] 

dition of either a feeling or a thought. Perhaps it 
might not be a difficult or tedious task, to show that 
these functions of the mind have many accidents 
in common ; and that no definite line of demarka- 
tion can be drawn between them. However inse- 
parably involved these accidents may be, at their 
points of affinity, they are in their more remote re- 
lationships, either in kind or degree distinguishably 
different. The effect of the voice in conveying 
these manifest peculiarities of sentiment or feeling, 
is called, in the language of Elocution, the Expres- 
sion of speech. 

The classifications of science were instituted to 
assist the memory and imagination j but while they 
fulfil the purpose of communicating and preserving 
knowledge, they unfortunately produce the unde- 
signed hindrance of its alteration or advancement, 
by their vain assumption of its completion. The 
endless revolutions of scientific arrangements are 
full of admonitions : yet we forget how often the 
fictitious affinities and the distinctions of system, 
have on the one hand presumptuously united the 
real divisions of nature, and on the other broken 
the beautiful connexion of the circle of truth. 

In submission to common phraseology and to 
the necessities of instruction, I have, in this essay, 
separated the history of that part, which, for the 
want of a better term, was called the simple narra- 
tive of speech, from that which treats of its ex- 
pressive signs; in the expectation that future obser- 
vation and discovery may determine their real re- 
lationships, by a full development of the nature of 



142 OP THE EXPRESSION 

the mind and the voice. For I can as well sup- 
pose all those works of usefulness are already ac- 
complished, which are foretold by the scope of hu- 
man faculties, as that the arts which employ taste, 
have yielded up all the accuracy of their princi- 
ples, and their sources of enjoyment. Let us leave 
the seventh day of rest, to the holiday rejoicings of 
patriots and politicians, who look upon their copied 
creations, and cunning schemes for human misery, 
and pronounce them original and finished and good. 
Let them build strongly around the perfection of 
their Chartas and Constitutions. Let them guard 
the ark of a forefather's wisdom, and proclaim its 
holiness to the people, for the safety, honor and 
emolument of the keeper. The real creators of 
Knowledge have never yet found, and perhaps ne- 
ver will find, their day of rest : and the proud fore- 
fathers of all the great works of usefulness and of 
glory, are, by the use of that same magic which 
raised their own extraordinary creations, transmut- 
ed to corrigible children in the eye of the advanc- 
ing labour of a later age. 

It has been alleged of the expression of speech, 
that the discrimination of its modes is beyond the 
ability of the human ear. If the term human ear 
is sarcastically used for that fruitlessly busy and 
slavish organ, which has so long listened for the clear 
voice of nature, amid the conflicting tumult of opi- 
nion and authority, we must admit the truth of the 
assertion. But it is not true of the keen industri- 
ous, and independent exercise of the senses : nor 
can it be affirmed, without profanity, of the supre- 






OF SPEECH. M3 

macy of that power of observation which was coun- 
selled and deputed at creation, for the effective ga- 
thering of truth, and the progressive improvement 
of mankind. 

The victory over nature must be the joint work 
of man and time : and having often, with more 
curiosity than hope, consulted the thoughts of 
others, on the possibility of delineating the signs of 
expression, I have generally received some query 
like this — Is it possible to recognize and measure 
all those delicate variations of sound, which have 
passed so long without detection, and which seem 
scarcely more amenable to sense than the atoms 
of air on which they are made? — It is possible to 
do all this : and if we cannot " find a way" for this 
conquest over nature, " let us,'' with the maxim, 
and in the contriving spirit and resolution of the 
great Carthagenian captain, " let us make one." 

It will not be denied, that the sounds constituting 
expression may be distinctly heard, and that there 
is no danger of mistaking the sentiments which dic- 
tate them. No: — it is the faint nature and rapidly 
commingling variety only, of these sounds that can- 
not be distinguished. I leave it to those who make 
this objection, to reflect on the truism, that there is 
nothing in the nature of sound but the audible: and, 
as the feelings are so readily recognised in its va- 
rieties, to ask themselves whether a distinct mea- 
surement is not implied in that recognition. The 
truth is, the delicate sounds of expression are al- 
ways actually measured in the strictest meaning of 
the word, but they have never been named : and 



144 OF THE EXPRESSION 

although all persons who are observant in this way, 
have nearly an equally acute perception of the ex- 
pression of speech, they have no language for de- 
signating those delicate discriminations which are 
every day unconsciously made even by the popular 
ear. I propose to devote the remaining sections of 
this essay to an analysis of expression : to point out 
its symbols, and to assign a definite nomenclature 
to them. 

There is perhaps no vain confidence in supposing; 
that the reader is now well acquainted with the 
qualities of the radical and vanishing movement. 
This wide reaching function, and master principle 
of the voice has been represented under its varied 
phases, in speech, song and recitative. We have 
traced it in the literal elements: have seen its in- 
fluence in directing the phenomena of syllables: 
and measured its successions in melody. I have yet 
to show its instrumentality in the. delicate work of 
expression : and if I shall be able thereby to resolve 
this marvellous mystery of nature, it will be by- 
substituting that greater marvel of agency, by 
which a unity of means is employed in the pro- 
duction of her infinities. 

The general affections of sound were described 
in the first section of this essay. In summary repe- 
tition, they are, — Quality, or kind of sound; Time; 
Force or the variations of strength and weakness ; 
Pitch or the variations of acuteness and gravity; 
and Abruptness. These distinctions are universally- 
known. 

A delicate perceptibility may easily learn that 



OF SPEECH. 



145 



each of these genera of sound is inclusive of many 
species, formed by its different degrees; and that 
noticible phenomena result from the combination of 
the different degrees of any one genus, with those 
of another. In the following series, some of the func- 
tions arising out of the five genera, and their mu- 
tual combinations, are enumerated by the adopted 
or the invented terms, under which they will be 
hereafter more particularly described. 

Quality, 
Time, 
Melody, 
Pause, 



Grouping, 

Aspiration, 

Octave 5 

Fifth, ' 

Third, 

Semitone, 

Downward Concrete, 



Wave, 
Tremor, 
Force, 

Radical stress, 
Median stress, 
Vanishing stress, 
Thorough stress, 
Compound stress, 
Loud Concrete, 
Accent, 
Emphasis. 



These are some of the heads of arrangement 
which I have devised, for the purpose of opening 
the way for a fuller and more definite account of 
the doctrine of expression : and I hope the reader 
will find, in the detailed consideration of these ele- 
ments, some approximation towards the develop- 
ment of this interesting department of speech. 



D 



SECTION VIII. 



Of the Quality or Kind of Voice. 



The Qualities of voice employed as the means of 
expression, are those of the Whispering, the Natu- 
ral, the Falsette and the Orotund voices : and those 
varieties embraced by the common nomenclature 
of harsh, rough, soft, smooth, full, thin and slender. 

There are certain conditions of thought, instinc- 
tively associated with appropriate species of these 
qualities. The whisper always denotes the inten- 
tion of secrecy : the falsette is used for the empha- 
tic scream of terror, pain and surprise : and the 
orotund voice alone gives satisfactory expression to 
the feeling of dignity and deliberation. The natural 
voice is accommodated to the moderate or lively sen- 
timents of colloquial dialogue, and of familiar lec- 
ture and discourse. It is not necessary to particu- 
larize here, the sentiments which call for the harsh, 
soft, full and slender qualities of the voice. The 
history of the specific appropriation of these quali- 
ties, in the art of reading, may be satisfactorily 
learned from the common books of professors. 

Regarding those enumerated qualities as distri- 
buted among mankind, some voices are restricted 



OF THE QUALITY OF THE VOICE. [47 

to harshness, or to softness, or to thinness. Few per- 
sons have by nature, a pure orotund ; and there are 
some whose compass of voice consists nearly alto- 
gether of falsette. Women are apt, in careless 
pronunciation, to use this offensive voice. There 
are however few voices which may not, by dili- 
gent cultivation, be made capable of exhibiting all 
the above named qualities. 

The elements of expression derived from the 
kind of voice, are not to be regarded solely in the 
simple and insulated light in which they are here 
represented. They are to be considered as suscep- 
tible of combination with the various modes and 
degrees of force, time, pitch and abruptness. In 
brief, quality of voice must necessarily be united 
with some of the degrees of the other genera. For 
whatever be the quality, it will be either strong 
or weak; its time must be long or short; its emis- 
sion will be abrupt or gradual, and it must be of 
some definite radical or concrete pitch. Certain 
qualities of the voice are, however, exclusively con- 
genial with particular conditions of these other ac- 
cidents: thus smoothness will more generally affect 
the moderate degrees of force. Similar congeniali- 
ties may be discovered by the slightest reflection. 

It would be easy to select from authors and from 
familiar discourse, phrases or sentences that re- 
quire respectively the kinds of voice here enume- 
rated. But I designed originally, to limit the pages 
of this work, consistently with the intention of de- 
finite description; aiming to make known the hith- 
erto untold elementary principles of speech, rather 



148 0F THE QUALITY OF THE VOICE. 

than to burthen the shelves of literature with the 
continued repetition of compilation. There is no 
mode of diagram that can represent these qualities 
of sound : and every attempt to make them plainer 
than they already stand, in their metaphorical de- 
signation, would be fruitless of success. 



SECTION IX. 

Of the Time of the Voice. 

The degrees of duration of the voice, represent- 
ed by the terms long, short, quick and slow, are 
among the most effectual means of expression. 

To be definite, let long and short designate the 
time of syllables relatively to each other ; and let 
quick and slow refer to the utterance of any series 
or aggregate of words. Thus a syllable may be 
said to have a long or short time, or Quantity, as it 
is usually called in this case ; and a phrase, an entire 
sentence or a larger portion of discourse may be 
said to be pronounced in quick or slow time. The 
occasions for employing these last modes of time 
are well known. Sentiments of dignity, delibera- 
tion, doubt and grief effect the slow time : those 
of gaiety, anger and eager argument, together with 
parenthetic phrases assume the quick time in utter- 
ance. 

I find it necessary however to be more particular 
on the subject of the length and shortness of indi- 
vidual syllables, comparatively considered ; and to 
extend the analysis somewhat beyond the reach of 
ordinary prosodial distinctions. 

The times of syllables exhibit undistinguishable 
shades of difference, from the shortest utterable, to 



150 0F THE TIME 

their utmost prolongation in oratorical expression. 
In order to reduce this indefinite view of time, to 
such distinctions as may serve for future reference, 
let us arrange syllables under three classes : the 
first embracing those which are fixed to the shortest 
quantity : the second, those that are fixed or nearly 
so, to a quantity of greater duration than that of the 
first : the third those that in common pronunciation, 
are of various lengths, from the shortest to the long- 
est, but which may be indefinitely extended. 

To the first class belong many of those syllables 
terminated by an abrupt element ; and containing a 
tonic, or an additional subtonic, or the further addi- 
tion of an atonic, as in " at," " ap," " ek/' hap-less, 
pif-fall, ac-cep-tance. It is not the shortness alone 
of these syllables which constitutes the criterion of 
this class 5 since some of them that belong to the 
third, are in common usage equally short. The syl- 
lables now under consideration, have this essential 
distinction, — they cannot be prolonged, but with de- 
formed pronunciation. The word " convict," when 
accented on the first, as a noun, and on the last as a 
verb, has, in plain orthoepical utterance, a certain 
quantity allotted to each syllable. If, for the pur- 
pose of oratorical expression, with the noun, the 
time of the first syllable should be indefinitely in- 
creased, the distinct and agreeable impression of 
the word will still remain, notwithstanding that pro- 
longation. But if with a view to expression, we 
give the last syllable of the verb, a similar exten- 
tion beyond its fixed dictionary time, the character 
of the word will be remarkably deformed by a 



or THE VOICE. ]51 

drawling utterance. The syllables assigned to this 
first class, not admitting of any alteration in quan- 
tity, may be called Immutable syllables. I shall 
hereafter show their relations to the movements of 
pitch, and to the functions of accent and emphasis. 

To the second class belong most of those sylla- 
bles which terminate by an abrupt element, and 
which contain one or more subtonics or atonies, in 
union with their essential tonic. The subtonics in 
this case give a greater length than belongs to the 
syllables of the preceding class, while the abrupt 
element and the short tonic prevent an indefinite 
prolongation. Of this class are "yet," " what," 
"mate," "gra/-itude," " des /ruc-tion." In these 
instances the syllables are longer than the immuta- 
ble; and for the purpose of expression, the subtonics 
may be slightly extended beyond their natural 
length, in simple utterance. But if they should be 
very considerably prolonged, something of the 
same offensive drawl of pronunciation will be per- 
ceived, which is experienced in the greatest de- 
gree in the forced extention of the immutable class. 
As those included by the present class admit of 
some change of quantity, they may be called Mu- 
table syllables. 

To the third class belong all those syllables 
which terminate with a tonic element, or with any 
of the subtonics, excepting b, d, g. Of this nature 
are "go," "thee," "for," "day," « man," "till," 
"de lay;' "be-gm7e," "ex-treme," "er-ro-ne-ous." If 
the speaker has a ready command over the subto- 
nics 6, d and g, so as to give full audibility to 



152 OF THE TIME 

their essential guttural murmur, their position, at 
the end of a syllable, does not absolutely prevent 
an indefinite prolongation, as in the words " deed,'* 
" plague," " babe/' " restored." But the effect in 
these cases is by no means to be compared with 
that of increase in time, growing out of tonics and 
other subtonics. Tn the above purer examples of 
this class, it will be found, that to whatever neces- 
sary degree the quantity may be prolonged, the 
character of the syllables will still be preserved ; 
nor will there be any of that unpleasant impression 
which attends the extension of time, in the prece- 
ding classes. It is the peculiar nature of these syl- 
lables, that they seem to be the same under every 
variety of time ; while the immutable and mutable, 
in some cases almost lose their identity by a change 
of quantity. From their allowable variety, the syl- 
lables of this class may be said to be of indefinite 
time ; or may be called Indefinite syllables. They 
furnish important means for the expression of 
speech ; some of its most effective elements, as will 
be shown hereafter, being made on syllables which 
admit of this indefinite prolongation. 

I do not desire the reader to receive the forego- 
ing classification, as one that should exclusively 
govern his view of the syllables of the language. 
The investigation of the causes of expression very 
soon led me to more definite distinctions of quantity 
than those of long and short ; which, after a millen- 
nium and more, of pretending observation, we con- 
tinue to transcribe from the record of the meagre 



OF THE VOICE. 153 

analysis of Greek and Latin prosody. The pheno- 
mena of expression suggested the divisions here 
made ; and the propriety of them, on this ground, 
may perhaps be hereafter acknowledged. How- 
ever short of universality this proposed system 
may reach, even its limited arrangement will be 
necessary, for the explanation of future parts of this 
essay ; and whether its sufficiency may be con- 
firmed, or its errors corrected, I must still think it is 
high time for the superannuated sages of classical 
literature to throw aside the Greek and Roman 
spectacles, in their prosodial researches; and to try 
if time, with his new lights, may not have wrought 
upon them, one of those renovations of sense, which 
have now and then resuscitated the torpid percep- 
tions of extreme longevity. 

The power of giving the indefinite prolongation 
to syllables, for the purposes of expression, is not 
a common accomplishment among speakers. It is 
true, the daily exercise of the voice is not destitute 
of forcible expression ; but the thoughts of daily 
discourse are generally those of mere narration or 
description ; and the sentiments, those of active ar- 
gument, or of contending interests, both of which 
employ, for the most part, the short time of sylla- 
bles, and the quick course of utterance. Still the 
assertion that a long quantity is not easily practica- 
ble, may seem to the reader, incomprehensible or 
false : since all who are able to sing, protract their 
notes to an indefinite length •, and there is no per- 
son who does not utter interjections and cries in 
the same manner. But the mode of prolongation to 
x 



154 



OF THE TIME 



which I here allude, is that of the equable concrete 
of speech. Three modes of the radical and vanish- 
ing movement were formerly described as respec- 
tively peculiar to speaking, singing and recitative. 
Without having regard to the nature and uses of 
these three functions, it is not easy to restrict them 
to their appropriate places. A reader who has not 
from practice, a facility in executing the prolonged 
quantity of speech, will be liable, in protracting 
his syllables, to fall into the intonation of song. 
When persons of imperfect ear, and without a sing- 
ing voice, by accident observe, remember and en- 
deavour to imitate the melodial succession of an 
air, they are apt to utter many of its notes, in the 
equable concrete of speech : and it is difficult to 
transfer the peculiar intonation of recitative to a 
known song, except through the tedious process of 
scholarship. Protracted cries are always made either 
by the use of the note of song, or by a mode of pitch 
to be called hereafter the Wave: and although the 
prolongation of interjections is often in the proper 
equable concrete of speech, it is generally made 
in the movement of this wave or conjoined rising 
and falling concrete. A long quantity in speech is 
correct and agreeable, only when the concrete has 
the same equable proportion of rise and diminution 
which constitutes its character in syllables of short 
duration. One of the many sources of delight, in 
the voice of a finished actor, lies in the graceful 
management of this essential agent of speech ? on 
all protrcated quantities. 



OF THE VOICE. 155 

The foregoing notice of the exclusion of the pecu- 
liar intonations of song and recitative from speech, 
furnishes one reason why those persons who possess 
high accomplishment as singers, are nevertheless 
indifferent readers or common place actors. I shall 
in a proper place, endeavour to show other reasons 
for the general want of interchangeable facility, in 
the exercise of the arts of song and speech. That 
to which I now allude, and which arises from the 
different structures of the radical and vanish, is not 
the least influential. The endowed singer has all 
those means of expression which are engrafted on 
the peculiar intonation of the note of song. But these 
are not readily transferable to the equable concrete 
of speech ; and while he is able to clothe every 
sentiment of the composer, his attempts at recita- 
tion, strip off or tear to pieces, every feeling of the 
poet. 

But to return from this account of the nature of 
the concrete, to the consideration of the uses of its 
varied times. The immutable, mutable and indefi- 
nite times of syllables, have their appropriate mode 
of fulfilling the purpose of expression. Future parts 
of this essay will illustrate this proposition. It is 
the opportunity which the indefinite time of sylla- 
bles affords for the proper performance of some of 
the concrete functions of pitch, enumerated in the 
synopsis of the elements of expression, that is to be 
regarded as the most important point in the time 
of speech. Independently of the mode of expres- 
sion by the length and shortness of syllables here 
supposed, the full beauty and effect of recitation 



156 OF THE TIME 

even in the quickness and slowness of utterance, 
can never be displayed except by a voice possess- 
ing a ready control over both these varieties of time. 
Readers who are ignorant of the principles of quan- 
tity, are yet aware of the necessity of a slow move- 
ment, as a symbol of certain sentiments. They there- 
fore endeavour to supply the deficiency of their 
power to make, the proper long concrete, by slight 
pauses between words, and even between syllables. 
But nature and good taste allow no compensation 
of this sort : they require much of the time which 
characterizes deliberate utterance, to be spent on 
the syllable itself, and reject every other mode as 
offensive monotony or as affectation. 

Eminent instances of the use of long and short in 
the time of utterance may be shown, by considering 
the syllabic construction of sentences in reference 
to the function of expression: for since the execution 
of some of the elements that are formed of concrete 
pitch, requires the prolonged time of indefinite syl- 
lables, it may happen that the sense calls for the 
use of one of these elements, on the more limited 
duration of a mutable or an immutable syllable. I 
here illustrate my meaning by a passage from the 
fourth book of Paradise Lost, where Satan is brought 
before Gabriel. In the dialogue between them, one 
of the replications of Satan is as follows: 

" Not that I less endure, or shrink from pain, 
Insulting angel! well thou knovv'st I stood 
Thy fiercest, when in battle to thy aid, 
The blasting vollied thunder made all speed, 
And seconded thy else not dreaded spear. 
But still thy words at random, as before, 






OF THE VOICE. 157 

Argue thy inexperience what behoves 

From hard assays and ill successes past 

A faithful leader, net to hazard all 

Through ways of danger by himself untried: 

I, therefore, I alone first undertook 

To wing the desolate abyss, and spy 

This new created world, whereof in Hell 

Fame is not silent, here in hope to find 

Better abode, and my afflicted powers 

To settle here on earth, or in mid air; 

Though for possession put to try once more 

What thou and thy gay legions dare against; 

Whose easier business were to serve their Lord 

High up in heaven, witli songs to hymn his throne, 

And practis'd distances to cringe, not fight." 

I have marked in italics, the words on which an 
indefinite quantity is required for the full measure 
of expression. The word " insulting," when inter- 
preted by the context, contains the mingled indica- 
tions of complaint, pride and reproach ; and these 
require an element of pitch to be mentioned here- 
after, which is made with a long quantity, and 
which consequently cannot be here employed with 
satisfactory expression on the emphatic syllable 
H suit.'' This sellable belongs to our class of mu- 
tables, and cannot be prolonged to the necessary 
degree, except by extending the natural time of the 
monothong c-rr, which is the sound of the letter 
" u" in this case, or by drawing out the subtonic 
" 1 ;" either of which modes would deform pronun- 
ciation. The second instance, marked in the muta- 
ble syllable " dread,'' contains a declaration of 
slight contempt •, and this, I shall say hereafter re- 
quires an element which calls for a duration of voice 



158 °P THE TIME 

not furnished by the natural quantity of the sylla- 
ble. The last marked phrase of the foregoing pas- 
sage affords a more conspicuous illustration of the 
subject before us: for the words " not fight" are each 
strictly immutable, and do not admit of prolonga- 
tion, without the most disgusting departure from 
correct pronunciation. Now the sentiments of this 
phrase are those of strong contempt, and of exulta- 
tion, the expressive symbol of which must be made 
upon an indefinite time. A reader of discernment 
and delicate feeling, can never satisfy his ear on 
these words. 

To a bad reader all sentences are alike, how- 
ever improperly constructed for the use of the ele- 
ments of expression. A good reader, who looks 
abroad through all the ways of the voice, must often 
find the tendencies of his utterance restricted by 
the unyielding nature of an ill-timed phraseology. 
The humblest exercise of art, and any mode of 
quantity suffice to set forth the sense of an author ; 
but the picture of passion, will be in many cases 
imperfect, if made on the short time of syllables. 
He who can assume the spirit of the poet, will not 
be able to give the prompted expression to part of 
the last line of the following passage. It is taken 
from Gabriel's answer to Satan's apology for his 
flight from Hell, formerly quoted, and is a comment 
on the title of " faithful leader" vaunted by Satan. 

name, 
O sacred name of faithfulness profan'd ! 
Faithful to whom ? to thy rebellious crew r 
Army of Fiends,^ body to fit head. 



OF THE VOICE. J59 

The six syllables of this last phrase are short, 
and all the emphatic ones are immutable. They 
contain a degree of admiration at the well marked 
fellowship between a ringleader and his crew, min- 
gled with scorn at the wicked faithfulness of the 
rebellious outcast : and these sentiments, we shall 
learn hereafter, cannot be eminently shown on the 
abrupt shortness of the time here employed. With 
an accomplished speaker, the management of this 
phrase would be like the efforts of a musician of 
feeling and skill, on a defective instrument : and the 
different success of his voice, on the above short 
syllables, and on indefinite quantities would be like 
the inexpressive chattering of the harp or piano- 
forte, compared with the rich resources of the vio- 
loncello. 

The abrupt and atonic elements produce, in dis- 
course, many instances of syllabic construction that 
hamper expression : But perhaps the greater num- 
ber of sentences admit of the voices which their 
sentiments require. For it is not absolutely neces- 
sary that every word should join in the expression. 
One or two well accommodated quantities some- 
times sufficiently convey the sentiment of the sen- 
tence. The first syllable of the following line has a 
natural quantity, which, without impropriety, may 
be doubled or more in expressive utterance ; and 
the same may be said of " bleed." 

Pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth. 

The circumstances of the scene from which this is 
taken, inform us that Mark Antony's sentiments are 
those of love, grief and contrition •, his feeling of re- 



160 OF THE TIME 

venge does not appear until the next line. The utter- 
ance of these sentiments, I shall show hereafter, 
calls particularly for an extension of syllables. If I 
am right in the interpretation, the words " pardon" 
and " bleeding' ' are emphatic, since they respect- 
ively picture the special object of the suppliant, 
and the disastrous assassination, which, with self re- 
proach, he had delayed to punish. The accented 
syllables of these words admit the prolonged con- 
crete, and the application of the proper element, 
on them alone, spreads the coloring of expression 
over the whole of the sentence. 

In the preceding illustration, the reader may dis- 
cover some grounds for the arrangement of sylla- 
bles according to their time, in reference to the sub- 
ject of expression. But there is another fact in the 
history of syllabic quantity. We know that from 
the restricted resources of language the same word 
has in different sentences, a varied meaning. It is 
still more commpn to find the same word imbued 
with a different sentiment, in its changeable com- 
binations with other words. Now as there are some 
sentiments which are well represented by the short 
and abrupt utterance alone, it follows that a word 
or syllable, which on one occasion refuses to re- 
ceive the required prolongation, may in another 
place fulfil the designs of expression on its immu- 
table quantity. It was shown in an example that the 
word " fight'' was incapable of the extension neces- 
sary for the full display of the sentiment of scorn. 
When Hamlet in the violent scene with Laertes 
says, 



OF THE VOICE. \Q\ 

Why, I m\\ fight with him upon this theme, 
Uutil my eje-lids will no longer wag: 

the quick time of the whole sentence is generically 
inclusive of the short time of its constituent sylla- 
bles; and the immutable quantity of the word 
" fight" sufficiently denotes by its abrupt force, the 
mad but resolute rage of the prince. 

Interjections are the only part of speech em- 
ployed exclusively for the purposes of expression. 
Those which are common to all languages, consist 
of tonics, that freely admit of indefinite prolonga- 
tion. Interjections are the instincts of animal voi- 
ces; and nature has given them the condition of 
sound suitable to the demands of feeling. Other 
parts of speech are sometimes the pictures of mere 
thought, and sometimes of sentiment: and so it 
happens that there is a difference in the time of syl- 
lables. If words had been invented for signs of 
feeling only, most of them would have been made 
with a prolonged voice. As the tonic elements may 
be uttered either as long or short quantities, and as 
the abrupt and atonic, in certain positions, necessa- 
rily produce short time, it might be inferred that 
a language which consists altogether of sounds, with 
the tonic qualities, would be better suited to all the 
purposes of the voice, than a language which con- 
tains elements productive of immutable quantity. 
But some sentiments are well represented by a 
short quantity and sudden issue of sound : and the 
abrupt elements are, in some of their positions, 
merely the best contrived means for producing that 



162 



OF THE TIME 



suddenness with the greatest variety and force.* 
And further, the atonies, though not in their own 
nature explosive, yet arrest the concrete progress 
of vocality, and thus allow a succeeding tonic rea- 
dily to take on the abrupt opening. A language 
made up of sounds, having the qualities of our tonic, 
subtonic, atonic, and abrupt elements, is well ac- 
commodated to the system of those expressive signs, 
which nature has ordained throughout the whole of 
vocal creation. 

The design of employing the prolonged time of 
the voice, in the emphatic places of discourse, with 
a view to an expressive intonation, seems never to 
have been thought of by ordinary writers : and it 
has been so sparingly exhibited, if indeed it has 
been at all contemplated by the elect of literature, 
that it has never received formal notice either in 
Rhetoric or in Elocution. Dramatists, to whose taste 
and duty this remark is especially applicable, fre- 
quently neglect that proper adoption of time, which 
would afford an actor the means of putting the finish- 
ing touches of the voice, to the vivid and forcible 
picture of poetic composition. 

The judicious use of the variations of time is the 
very life of recitation, and the right hand of the 
rhythmus of poetry and prose. 

* Those who delight in searching for undiscoverable things, 
may institute an inquiry, whether the abrupt elements derived 
their existence in language, from the suddenness which anger 
and other violent passions assumed, in instinctive utterance, at 
that nonentity of date, the origin of languages. We here throw 
away the theme : let Messala, the Roman, who wrote a whole 
volume on one letter, come back to us and snatch at it 






OF THE VOICE. 163 

The human ear has cognizance of two distinct 
modes of sound. First, by the perception of two or 
more momentary impressions, with given pauses 
between the aggregates, as in the following illus- 
tration : 

•• •• • • | •*• ••» • •• 

Or of momentary impressions unequal in force, 
alternately successive, as: 

•••••• I ••••» I ••••!"•"• 

Or secondly by the perception of two or more 
sounds of unequal duration arranged in alternate 
order, as: 

1 1 1 

We can reach no further in the investigation of 
this subject, than to know that the measurement of 
these varieties is an agreeable exercise of the ear 
and judgment. 

Now as the voice has the power of this momen- 
tary percussion, and as syllables have different de- 
grees of duration, both of the above forms of sound 
may be applied to speech. The perception of the 
former is called \ccent, and that of the latter Quan- 
tity. To him who has equally exercised his ear in 
these two modes of measurement, that which con- 
sists in the alternations of quantity is by far the 
most agreeable. For, in the first place, no momen- 
tary sound or mere ictus, is musical ; whereas the 
prolonged sounds of quantity may be so. Secondly, 
if the perception of equal momentary sounds with 
pauses between the given aggregates, — or of une- 



154 OF THE TIME 

qual momentary sounds, alternately continued, be 
agreeable, the alternate order of differing quanti- 
ties will be more so. For, quantity may be made 
to include the accentual functions ; since the forci- 
ble ictus of accent may be applied to the beginning 
of a prolonged syllable : and pauses may be inter- 
posed between the aggregates that make up the 
successions of quantity. 

I have in this view regarded brute sound only - : 
when quantity is considered as susceptible of ex- 
pression, its claims over accent are incalculable. 

I have introduced these remarks on the quantity 
and accent of language, with reference to the use 
of the voice in reading verse : because a principal 
source of the difference between a good and a bad 
reader therein, lies in the varied degrees of their 
ability to command the accent and quantity of syl- 
lables. 

It may be supposed that I allude to the Latin and 
Greek languages, when I speak of the quantity of 
verse. I mean the English language, and the par- 
tial, though unsought use of quantity, which at pre- 
sent prevails in its measure : and I wish further to 
intimate my anticipation of the future construction 
of its versification, on the sole basis of quantity 5 if 
the scholastic formalists of literature can be made 
to believe that the subject of ancient prosody has, 
for ages past, been exhausted ; that the labours of 
wrangling compilation, are inferior to the works of 
inventive improvement, and that the investigation 
of their respective languages may produce for them 



OF THE VOICE. 165 

the first births of genius, and the consequent undi- 
vided heritage of fame. 

About the time we are taught to measure the 
syllables of Virgil, by the relations of long and 
short, we are told that the genius of our own tongue 
does not admit of the rhythmus of quantity — that 
English prosody, together with that of other mo- 
dern languages, is restricted to the use of the al- 
ternate strong and weak percussion of accent. For 
the sake of the benefit of the general principle in 
some important matters, we do well, perhaps, to 
rely implicitly, for a time, on the instruction of our 
teachers ; but many may find reason to regret the 
necessity of this confidence in particular instances. 
From the finely governed and varied quantities of 
Mrs. Siddons, I first learned, by beautiful and im- 
pressive demonstration, that the English language 
possessed similar, if not equal resources, with the 
Greek and the Latin, in this department of the 
luxury of speech : and I thus found myself indebt- 
ed to the Stage for the opening of that source of 
poetical and oratorical pleasure, which the more 
solemn pretences, and the hack instruction of a col- 
lege, either knew not or disregarded. It was whilst 
listening to the recitation of this surpassing actress, 
that I first felt the want of that elementary instruc- 
tion which would have enabled me to see through 
the whole of her excellence. I could not, however, 
avoid learning from her, what the appointed elders 
of my education should have taught me, — that the 
essential basis of expressive intonation consists in 
the extended time of utterance. It was then, that 



256 0F THE TIME 

the design of this work was first contemplated ; and 
it was the subsequent recollection of the dignified 
protraction of her indefinite syllables, and the 
smooth and accurate execution of her speaking con- 
crete, which is even now in my imagination, that 
led me to the analysis of the radical and vanishing 
movement of the voice. 

I must not be understood here,*as asserting that 
the quantity of English syllables has not been re- 
cognized by prosodians ; or that its beauty has not 
been felt by a good ear, wherever it has been well 
used accidentally, in English versification and in 
harmonious prose. I mean to convey a regret that 
its powers have been undervalued ; that it has been 
thereby excluded from its place in elementary rhe- 
torical instruction, and that the ear has thus been 
deprived of one of its highest prerogatives of per- 
ception, in poetry and speech. 

I have sometimes been disposed to ask whether 
a classical scholar is gravely in earnest, or only 
vain of a college livery, in declaring his enjoyment 
of Greek and of Latin rhythmus, whilst he is igno- 
rant of similar qualities of neglected quantity, in his 
own language. The Greeks and the Latins have 
left us their grammar, their written words, sylla- 
bles, and elements; but our uncertainty of the true 
voice of these elements in their several combina- 
tions, has given rise, among modern nations, to a 
difference in the pronunciation of them. Assuming 
the English mode, the subject of Greek and Latin 
quantity may be resolved into these simple princi- 
ples. Long syllables, or the temporal effects of 



OF THE VOICE. \QJ 

long syllables, are made in two ways: First, by 
the absolute duration of syllables, constituted in the 
manner of those we called indefinite : Secoudly, by 
such as were called immutable and mutable, fol- 
lowed by a pause ; the time of pronunciation added 
to the time of the pause, being equal to a long syl- 
lable. Short syllables are made by the short-timed 
pronunciation of indefinite syllables, or by immu- 
table ones. Now there is nothing in this account of 
ancient quantity, which is not true of the English 
language. 

But further, not only are these general princi- 
ples of syllabic construction the same in Greek, 
Latin, and English, but the very syllables them- 
selves are common to these three languages ; nay, 
I may say to all languages. If the reader will run 
over any or every line of Homer and of Horace, 
he will find very few syllables that do not form the 
whole, or part of some word belonging to his own 
tongue; not only as regards the elemental sounds, 
but likewise as regards the most exact coincidence 
of quantity. But it is on the accidents of syllables 
alone, that the doctrine of quantity is founded, in 
all languages. When, therefore, we deny that the 
genius of the English language admits of the tem- 
poral measure, we must come to this absurd con- 
clusion, that identical sounds have, in Greek type, 
the most finished fitness for quantity, and in English 
have none at all * 

* That it may not be thought I have exaggerated this conclu- 
sion, I gi?e the following substantial support to it. In the chap- 
ter on versification, in Baron Bielfeld's " Elements of Universal 



1 08 OF THE TIME 

The remarks here made refer principally to the 
sounds of syllables, separately considered. There 
may be some differences in the several words of 
these languages, that may render it easier to con- 
struct a rhy thmus of quantity in one than in another: 
but we speak now of the admission of the system of 
quantity into English, and not of the comparative 
ease of its execution when adopted. There may be 
some facilities in the Greek for certain kinds of 
measure, arising out of the greater length of the 
generality of words in this language. The Greek 
has certainly an advantage over the English in all 
the purposes of vocal expression, and poetic quan- 
tity, by the majority of its syllables being indefinite, 
and by its making less use of the abrupt elements 

Erudition," after many remarks on the subject of ancient quan- 
tity and modern accent, which in nowise qualify the following 
extraordinary assertion, the author says — " Properly speaking, 
there are not, therefore, in modern languages, any sensible dis- 
tinction of long and short syllables, but many that are to be 
lightly passed over, and others on which a strong accent, or in- 
flection of the voice, is to be placed." This was written towards 
the close of the last century, by the " preceptor to a European 
prince, and the chancellor of all the universities in the Prussian 
dominions." Even before his time, some prosodians were not 
without the sense of hearing ; and though, since the epoch of 
his deep deafness, the existence of long and short syllables in 
modern languages has been generally admitted, yet it is still 
held to be impossible to make agreeable measure out of their 
relations. 

In candour, it should be stated that the Baron was a mere 
compiler; but such writers generally represent current opin- 
ions, and they always know more of books and other men's no- 
tions, than is either known or coveted by original observers and 
autocrats in thought. 



OF THE VOICE. 159 

in those positions which produce immutable sylla- 
bles. The Greek syllables have, in general, fewer 
letters than English : and they more frequently 
end with a tonic element. 

The employment of quantity, in the harmonious 
composition of English prose writers, produces the 
full audible effect of portions of the regular mea- 
sure of Greek and of Latin lines. If these occa- 
sional passages of temporal rhythmus are well ac- 
commodated to the genius of the English language, 
I aver, I do not see why the studied contrivance of 
a poet might not use those existing quantities, in 
the continued course of verse. The following sen- 
tence has not the accentual form of any of our es- 
tablished metres, and is therefore, in its rhythmus, 
purely English prose : — Rome, in her downfall, 
blazoned the fame of barbarian triumphs. This 
sentence derives its impressiveness, or, in the com- 
mon term, its roundness as a period, from the pe- 
culiar position of its long and short quantities. Now 
this disposition is exactly that of a Latin and of a 
Greek hexameter line, as may be seen by compa- 
rison. 

E» ^"'fTf I Pf ^we* [ r « j f>r,ooTi j Tixeo; o J ivttc, 

Si nihTl | ex tant | a Lcet | urbe re | tlaqlli 

Rome in her | downfall | blazon'd the j fame of bar j barian | triumphs. 

If this last sentence be read with its proper pau- 
ses, and with deliberate pronunciation, it will cor- 
respond in measure with the long and short times 
of the superscribed Latin and the Greek. I w 7 ould 
not. however, think it strange, for anticipation 
z 



]70 0F THE TIME 

takes off the edge of surprise, if a classic scholar 
should deny the identity of its temporal impression, 
with that of the collated lines. We are so little 
accustomed to regard English syllables in refer- 
ence to their quantity, that it is difficult, at first, to 
make it even a subject of auricular perception. 
For he who, according to vulgar persuasion, be- 
lieves that there is an openness in the senses to re- 
ceive all the objects which are brought near them, 
greater than that which exists in the mind for the 
reception of new subjects of reason or reflection, 
plainly indicates that he has no more than common- 
place knowledge of the ways and powers of both 
the senses and the mind ; since the senses have 
equally their ignorance, obstinacy, and prejudice ; 
they equally see plainly what has been seen, and 
for a long time can see no more. A well cultivated 
eye and ear, are as rarely found as a well discip- 
lined mind ; for their respective functions, in all 
subjects which engage these senses, are consequent 
and inseparable. A wise master in human policy 
and morals, would not find more difficulty, where 
interest is not inimical, in effecting his designs of 
melioration, against the restiveness of mankind, 
than an original observer and an inventive genius 
in natural philosophy would experience, from the 
mass of the world, in soliciting an immediate acqui- 
escence in the truth of newly divulged causes in 
the visible phenomena of nature and of art. It is 
an easy and a passive thing to look and to listen ; 
but, if I may make an antithesis of these words, it 
is another and a difficult exertion to see and to hear. 



OF THE VOICE. 171 

In speaking of the indefinite syllables of the 
English language, it was said that their time might 
be varied without blemish of pronunciation 5 and it 
was formerly shown, that the abrupt elements, 
which generally terminate the immutable syllables, 
have necessarily, in the occlusion of their voices, a 
pause that allows an immutable syllable to hold the 
place, and fulfil the function of a long one. With 
these legitimate materials for the construction of a 
temporal rhythmus in English versification, nothing 
but deafness or prejudice, prevents our perceiving 
that its institution has been strongly prompted by 
nature, and is already half established in our poetry. 
We allow a reader full liberty over the quantity of 
syllables, for the sake of expression in speech ; and 
song employs the widest ranges of time, on tonic 
sounds j why should we refuse to the measure of 
poetry, a less striking departure from the plain or- 
thoepical pronunciation of the language. 

Mr. Sheridan, who does not overlook the exist- 
ence of quantity in the English language, and its 
use in the expression of speech, but who, never- 
theless, maintains that its genius is exclusively dis- 
posed to the accentual measure, seems to ground 
his opinion on the special rules of Greek and Latin 
prosody not being applicable to the phenomena of 
varying time in English pronunciation. He might 
as fairly have concluded that the good English style 
of his own lectures could not be as perspicuous as 
the Latin, because his mode of construction was dif- 
ferent from the hyperbatical scattering of the lat- 
ter tongue. 



172 OF THE TIME 

The broad inquiry on this subject is, are there 
both long and short syllables in the English lan- 
guage j and can these varying quantities be so ar- 
ranged as to produce an agreeable rhythmus? The 
brief answer to this question is, that we have, 
equally with the Greeks and Romans, the varia- 
tion of long and short, in syllables ; and it requires 
other arguments against the practicability of em- 
ploying it in metre, than those derived from its 
having never yet been done. I would not choose 
to contend with him who doubts that quantity ne- 
cessarily belongs to every spoken language. The 
ancients not only recognized it in theirs, but by a 
deep attention to its nature, availed themselves of 
its uses in the creations of literary taste. If the 
Greek and Roman prosodists, instead of laying 
down special rules for the quantity of particular 
words, which may not be accommodated to ours, 
had left us a little more of that philosophy of ele- 
mental and syllabic sounds, which authorized or 
instinctively produced the rules of their scansion, 
the moderns would, in all probability, have seen its 
application to their own languages. 

There is some ground for the opinion, though 
this part of history is not altogether clear, that the 
restricted melodial nature of Greek music, its re- 
lation to song, together with the care therein taken 
to adjust the temporal correspondence of syllables 
with notes, and its forming part of the liberal edu- 
cation of Grecian orators, poets, and philosophers, 
led to the close investigation of quantity, and final- 
ly effected its institution as the basis of the poeti- 



OF THE VOICE. \ 73 

cal composition of the Greeks. The modern ex- 
tension of the science of music to the principles 
and resources of the ingenious system of harmony, 
has rendered it independent of the support of words; 
and the nice measurement of their time has been 
neglected, since the separation of the formerly uni- 
ted duties of the composer and the poet. 

I cannot pass by the conjecture, but I leave 
others to determine its truth, that the establishment 
of Greek rhythmus on the function of quantity, did 
conduce, with other causes, to the improvement of 
the euphony of that language. We know what al- 
terations rhyme, and the accentual measure have 
made in the pronunciation of English ; and there is 
fair reason to believe, that one means of working 
a change to greater harmony, would be, to found 
its versification on quantity. The occasional wants 
of poets would prompt them to change many of our 
immutable syllables to indefinites; would suggest 
the elision of atonic and of abrupt elements from the 
ends of syllables ; and thus, by those large labours 
which the mere critic seems not to contemplate, 
and certainly never has accomplished, our lan- 
guage might be invited towards that condition of 
syllabication which constitutes, in part, the harmo- 
ny of the Greek. We know that the diaeresis and 
other licenses of Greek versification, to say nothing 
of the dialects, were constantly used for the facili- 
ties of poetic quantity, in that language ; and we 
might inquire, whether the addition to its alphabet 
of the Heta and Omega, was not part of the contri- 



174 OF TIIE TIME 

bution, suggested and afforded by the circumstan- 
ces of the temporal measure. 

Those who are in the habit of poetical composi- 
tion, in the common accentual method, know how 
readily words of suitable accents are associated with 
the demands of versification. Nay, the fluency of 
the ear, if I may so call it, is in this matter so un- 
failing, that if the sense of words be disregarded, 
there will be no hesitation in sorting such unmean- 
ing discourse, in any assumed accentual measure. 
I mean, that a person with a quick poetical ear, 
and a free command of language, will find no 
difficulty in carrying on, for any duration, an ex- 
tempore rhythmus of mere unrelated words or 
phrases. But a person who is not in the practice 
of metrical composition, even if he be aware, from 
rule, of the requisite succession of accents, will 
show as much delay in gathering words to fulfil his 
accentual purposes, as the former would have, un- 
der the present state of the English ear, in aptly 
furnishing syllables for a temporal rhythmus. Habit 
must have given to the Improvisatori of Greece, 
the same elective affinity of ear, if I may speak so, 
for the appropriate quantity of their verses, as the 
extemporizing poets of later Italy had for their re- 
quired accents. At least two-thirds of the accented 
syllables of English words are indefinite in their 
time, and may, at pleasure, be made either long or 
short. This resource for measure may be employ- 
ed. Until, therefore, we have a larger experience 
upon the rhythmus of quantity, in modern versifi- 
cation, and until the English ear knows more of 



OF THE VOICE. 175 

the appreciable time of syllables than it can at pre- 
sent boast, we may be justified in considering the 
denial of the susceptibility of a temporal rhythmus 
to modern languages, as a mere assumption. 

I am aware that the number of monosyllables and 
dissyllables in our language, exceeds that of the 
Greek $ and this may possibly render the former 
less fit than the latter, for the construction of cer- 
tain svstems of measure. On this ground it has 
been asserted that English words could not be ar- 
ranged in an agreeable dactylic succession. This 
may be the case, but we have too little slight in 
the management of quantity, to justify a positive 
opinion on this point ; and the trials which have 
been made, are not quite decisive. Habit is a fore- 
stalled and obstinate judge over existing institu- 
tions, and often pronounces unwisely upon their 
better substitutes. It is very certain that an ana- 
paestic measure, founded on a mixture of accent and 
quantity, and nearly identical in effect with the an- 
cient full dactylic line, is well suited to the syllabic 
and verbal condition of our language j and that a 
very agreeable rhythmus is produced by it* Ad- 

" Let us subjoin a word here, for our delusions and preju- 
dices. The dactylic foot, and the anapaestic, fall with a similar 
impression on the ear. The ancients used the former for themes 
■ highest dignity; and school boys are taught that it richly 
and gravely fulfils its purpose. We use the anapaestic foot for 
doggrel and burlesque, and believe too, that there is something 
in its light skip peculiarly adapted to the familiar gayety of its 
modem poetic use. Let a deaf worshipper of antiquity and an 
English prosodist, settle this matter between them : for, to serve 
a purpose, even the opposite ends of contradiction may be made 



] 76 OF THE TIME 

mitting the above objection, it will not overrule 
the design to establish the forms of Iambic and 
Trochaic measure, now in use, on the basis of quan- 
tity alone. 

Although the accentual rhythmus is the avowed 
system of English versification, entire lines are oc- 
casionally found, so satisfactorily fulfilling all the 
conditions of the temporal measure, that they 
might be judged by the revived poetical ear of a 
Greek. But such lines are always preceded and 
followed by others, founded on the mingled func- 
tions of both quantity and accent. A rhythmus 
composed altogether of accent, if such a thing could 
exist in speech, would be agreeable, though less so 
than one composed entirely of quantity. A versi- 
fication made up of both these functions, might give 
no offence to a person uninformed of the nature of 
quantity *, for, since syllables which are constructed 
on the basis of quantity, may exhibit likewise the 
effect of accentual stress, the system might pass 
for one of entire accent. He who is skilled in 
the art of measuring the time of syllables, will, 
over this compounded rhythmus, be shocked by the 
irregular and unexpected variation of its dissimilar 
impressions. An ear of delicate prosodial organiza- 
tion, which yet makes no analysis of its perceptions, 
often experiences this rhythmic violence from Eng- 
lish verse, but is ignorant of its cause. He whom 

to meet. I can only say, in the words by which the Yezedi of 
Persia, who worship the devil, briefly explained their faith, and 
pertinaciously defended it against a Christian missionary—- 
" Thus it is." 



OF THE VOICE. 177 

nature has made a poet, by refinement of ear and 
by copiousness of words, instinctively avoids, in 
composition, much of the evil of these conflicting 
systems. But writers who have only a poor un- 
furnished ambition, who know nothing of sound, 
and who promiscuously mingle in their lines, the 
weight and the measure of syllables, commit dis- 
tressing offence against those who, from some ne- 
cessity, may use the patience to go through their 
works. One of the charms of a good reader of 
verse, consists in his power and practice of chang- 
ing our metrical accents into conspicuous quanti- 
ties, by protracting the voice on all those syllables 
which have a stress in the measure, and will bear 
prolongation. 

From all that has been said on the comparative 
natures of quantity and accent, and from the slow 
progress of modern nations in distinguishing the 
relations of the former, it is not an improbable con- 
jecture, that, of these two metrical impressions, ac- 
cent is more easily recognised and practised. Nor 
would it be too free an extension of this conclusion, 
to infer from the comparative ease of execution, 
that the first rhythmic essays of all nations were 
made in this mode of versification; and that the 
Greeks themselves passed through this rattling 
amusement of poetical infancy. We owe no obli- 
gation to authority or fact, in opposition to this as- 
sumption; and I could as soon be persuaded that 
the first instrumental music of Otaheite was not the 
clattering of shells, as that the earliest songs of 
Greece were measured by the nice relationships 
a a 



178 OF THE T1ME 

of time. Our language is not, indeed, young in 
duration, but it is still in its infancy on this point : 
and many of those who have worked with good 
wishes, but ineffectual means, towards its improve- 
ment ; and who, by taste and authority, have been 
qualified to listen to living voices, with progres- 
sively meliorating influence upon them, have only 
wandered off with an unavailing ear, among the 
silent graves of language in the remote realms of 
antiquity. We all feel an august delight over the 
works of the distant dead. There is scarcely a 
page of the poetic rhythmus of the Greeks and the 
Romans, or a remaining trace of their plummet and 
chisel, that might not make me forget, through in- 
tense contemplation, the mere seclusion of a prison. 
But I could as soon admit, that the modern zeal in 
freighting our homeward ships with the fragments 
of their temples; and the covetousness of nations for 
the very purloined possession of their statuary, 
ought to preclude the future use of the marble of 
our mountains, for the accomplishment of equal or 
transcending works of art, as that a just admiration 
of classic measure should prevent the endeavour to 
transfer to our own language, the admissible prin- 
ciples of Greek and Roman poetry. 

I have offered the last few pages of this section, 
as no more than digressive and desultory remarks 
on a subject intimately connected with the time of 
the voice, and with the cultivation of an important 
but neglected accident of speech. 

The English language has an unbounded pros- 
pect before it. The unequalled millions of a great 



OF THE VOICE. 179 

continent must hold a wide community, in the plea- 
sures and interests of its advancement. I cannot so 
far undervalue the genius and emulation of that 
great population which will hereafter form its lite- 
rary class, as to suppose they will all merely vaunt 
in retrospective vanity, over what has been done, 
and net extend their views to other and deeper re- 
sources of their art. But, in thus looking forward 
to the establishment of English versification, on the 
basis of quantity, I see the limitation of the poet's 
abundance, by the substituted excellence of his 
few but finished lines. Our measure is now drawn 
from the two different sources of accent and quan- 
tity. To construct a rhythmus by quantity alone, 
will require more rejections, and a wider search in 
composition ; more copiousness in the command of 
words j more accuracy of car, and longer labour 
for a shorter work. I am here speaking of the great 
products of the pen. Of these, as of all perdurable 
human excellence, labour must be the means ; and 
the calculation of its extent will always form part 
of the summing of judgment, in decreeing reward. 
Let him who could patiently devote a life to laying 
up store of " goodly thoughts 7 ' for Paradise Lost, 
unravel the idler's fable about the inspiration of the 
immortal works of man. Let them, who to the soul 
of genius have joined the strong body of laborious 
care, say, in what consists the true life and the em- 
balming of fame : let them touch the sleeve of early 
and voluminous authorship, and whisper one of the 
useful secrets for accomplishing more to instruct 
please, and less to perish 



SECTION X, 

Of the Expression of Melody. 

A comprehensive definition of melody, like that 
of the same term in music, would properly repre- 
sent it as produced by a variation in the time, pau- 
ses, and pitch of the voice ; since the well appoint- 
ed uses and disposition of these accidents, make up 
the agreeable impression of speech. In two pre- 
vious sections I have discussed separately the sub- 
jects of time and pitch. I propose to consider here, 
how far the pitch of melody is instrumental in the 
work of expression. 

The various successions of the radical pitch of 
melody were, on a former occasion, traced to their 
ultimate elements, and designated by the definite 
terms of their phrases. I have now to show how 
some of these phrases may be employed as the ap- 
propriate signs of certain sentiments. The design 
of this section does not embrace the consideration 
of the cadence which is produced by the downward 
tritone ; nor does the varied mingling of all the 
phrases, in the melody of plain discourse, convey 
the conspicuous impression which is here implied 
by the expression of speech. 

The monotone and the alternate phrase, are the 
only modes of melodial progression which attract 
the ear by a peculiarity of character, and thereby 
fulfil any remarkable purpose of expression. 



OF THE EXPRESSION OF MELODY. 



181 



A predominance of the monotone in melody, is 
suited to feelings of dignity, grief, tenderness, so- 
lemnity, and serious admonition. 

The phrase of alternation is accommodated to the 
more active sentiments of anger, joy and facetious- 
ness, and to the earnest strife of argument. It is, 
however, to be taken into view, that the current 
melody must not consist altogether of either of 
these phrases. This would produce an offensive 
sameness. The protracted monotone should be 
occasionally broken by the rising or falling ditone; 
and the alternation as frequently varied by a limit- 
ed monotone. 

An illustration of the dignified expression of the 
monotone may be given, on that magnificent pic- 
ture of Satan's imperial presence in Paudemonium, 
at the opening of the Second Book of Paradise Lost. 



High 


on 


a throne of 


roy— al state, 


which far 










d d 


4 V * 





Out shone the wealth of Or— mus and of 


lod, 


\d d 4 4 4 dd dd 

1 - - - 


-* 



Or where 


the gor-geous East with rich--est hand 


d 4 


d d d * u- 4 4 d 





Show— ers on her kings bar — ba— ric pearl and gold, 

4 4444^ 




Sa — tan 


ex— ait — ed 


sat. 


9 


dd 4 




w V 


V 



]52 OF THE EXPRESSION 

The greater part of this melody is in monotone ; 
I do not say the passage requires, exclusively, the 
order here given to the variations from the pre- 
dominant phrase, since an accomplished reader 
might alter the arrangement with equal or supe- 
rior effect. But I venture to claim that reader's 
accordance with the confident assertion, that if an 
equal amount in monotone, however disposed, be 
not allotted to these lines, the utterance will be, 
according to the degree of deviation, more or less 
at variance with the sentiment of the poet, and the 
rapt dignity of the reader's contemplation* 

* With due apology for the digression, I beg leave to return 
for a moment to the subject of the last section, by remarking, 
that the poet, with a rich instinct of versification, has thickly 
set the lines above quoted, with long quantities, in happy adap- 
tation to the stately sentiment of the description. 

I use here, rather remarkably, the term instinct of versifica- 
tion, not in oversight of the bright intelligence with which this 
extraordinary man executed every high design and every tittle 
of his work; but because it is clearly seen, he did not intend to 
construct the measure of his poem by the rules of quantity alone. 
The development of the resources of the accentual measure by 
Milton, was a new and absorbing labour. Had this advance- 
step preceded him, the originality and restless enterprise of his 
genius would most probably have-joined with the many princi- 
ples of Greek and Roman composition, so happily transferred to 
his own language, the accomplishment of the supposed impossi- 
bility of adopting the mode of their rhythmus. In the above 
example, where the majesty of his thought secured so much 
homage from his ear, some of the quantities suddenly arrest 
that perception of continued movement and deliberate dignity, 
which the protracted time of the generality of the measure pro- 
duces. The syllables « state," "rich* and "saf," are too short, 
for the otherwise good iambic temporal rhythmus of these lines; 



OF MELODY. \$$ 

The following notation of the description of Ab- 
diel's encounter with Satan, from Milton's sixth 
book, exemplifies the use of the alternate phrase, 

and the word barbaric occasions some irregular contrariety in 
the impressions of quantity and accent. In the abstract pro- 
nunciation of this word, the first syllable, "bar" is somewhat 
longer than the second, which, by its nature will not, in this 
case, bear unusual extension. But the longest syllable is here 
in the place of the weak syllable of iambic accent; and the im- 
pressiveness of exceeding length thus reverses the succession 
of the prevailing rhythmus. Nor does the simple meaning of 
the epithet "barbaric," allow a sufficient degree of accentual 
stress on the second syllable, to over-rule the impressiveness of 
the greater length of the first. If the reader will substitute the 
adjective " orient*' for " barbaric," and overlook the deteriora- 
tion of style produced by the change, he will perceive, by com- 
parison, the difference between the accentual and the temporal 
rhythmus, which I have just endeavoured to explain. 

Showers on | her kings | her or [ ient pearl | intl gold. 

Now, whether the first and the fourth foot be considered re- 
spectively in their order, a trochee and an iambus, as I have 
marked them, or as a dactyl and an anaprtst, as they may be 
read, consistently with the genius of our iambic measure, I do 
assert that the admissible prolongation of the indefinite syllable 
"or," produces a dignity of utterance, not equally eftectible on 
the short time of the accented syllable of barbaric. And I add 
further, that this line does fulfil the conditions of poetic quan- 
tity, as completely as any line that ever was constructed with 
Greek or with Roman words. 

If the reader would know how certain words may be pro- 
nounced as a foot or prosodial phrase, either of two or of three 
syllables, let him recur to our principles of syllabication, for- 
merly described. The word showers is one syllable, when the 
" e" is omitted; the diphthongal tonic " ou,' ? vanishing directly 
into the subtonic " r." If the sound of " e" is retained, that ele- 
ment requires a radical, and the word becomes, thereby, of two 



184 



OF THE EXPRESSION 



in the expression of the earnest excitement neces- 
sarily produced by the eventful scene: 



So say — ing, a no— — ble 


stroke he lift ed high, 


4-4< 4 4 4 


4 4444 



Which 


hung not, but so swift with tem— pest 


fell 


^ 


^4**44*4 


4 





On the proud crest of Sa — tan, that no 


sight 


444 4 4** 4*4— 



Nor mo — tion of quick thought, 


less could his shield 


4 4 444 4 


* 4 * 


* " 4 



Such ru in in — ter — cept. 



In this scheme, I have used a limited variation of 
radical pitch, with the design to show plainly the al- 
ternation. Good recitation would require a wider 

syllables. The trissyllable " orient," is reduced to a dissylla- 
ble, by withholding a radical from the sound represented by 
"i;" and thereby dropping that sound as a distinct syllable. 
Now " i," in the trissyllable, is expressed by the proper sound 
of ec-1, and this element passing readily into the subtonic " y," 
coalesces with the succeeding tonic to form one syllabic im- 
pulse. The word " orient," in correct pronunciation, is a true 
dactyl in quantity; I have set it as an iambus, not intending to 
defend the propriety of the contraction, but for the purpose of 
constructing thereby a regular iambic line, and to illustrate one 
of the principles of English pronunciation. 



OF MELODY. 185 

range: sitill the alternate phrase should predominate. 
A prevalence of monotones throughout this pas- 
sage, might represent the dignified courage and 
calm security of an aggressor, confident of success : 
but it would be misapplied and faded coloring for 
the hurried mingling of hopeful watching and dread- 
ful expectation, which the description of the huge 
impetus is calculated to excite. 

Besides these two modes of expression by parti- 
cular phrases, there is a certain effect produced by 
an ascent and descent of the melody, through the 
whole extent of the voice. Common school books, 
on the art of reading, specify the sentiments which 
require the higher and the lower ranges of pitch. 
My scheme leads me no further than to ascertain 
and to illustrate the general principles of this sub- 
ject. In the sixth section, on melody, I gave the no- 
tation of a passage from Othello, in which the pro- 
gression is represented gradually rising and falling, 
through the whole compass of a voice, correspond 
ing with the variation of force in the sentiment: it 
is therefore unnecessary to trouble the reader with 
a similar delineation. 



b b 



SECTION XL 

Of the Intonation at Pauses. 

The term Pause, in elocution, is applied to that 
occasional silence in discourse, which is greater 
than the momentary rest between syllables. 

Pauses are used for the more conspicuous display 
of sense and sentiment, by separating certain words 
or aggregates of words from each other. 

Without entering here, into a circumstantial ex- 
position of the philosophy of grammar, every sen- 
tence may, in the most general view, be regarded 
as resolvable into two constituent generic parts of 
speech; the substantive, with its accidents of being, 
and the verb, with its various modes of action: all 
other symbols of thought being only specifications 
of the attributes of that being and that action, 
throughout the modes of time, place, degree, man- 
ner, and all other possible relationships of things. 
Now the pause separates the aggregates of words 
which describe those existences and agencies, with 
their qualifications: and whilst the continuity of ut- 
terance within those divisions, gives unity to the 
impression on the ear, the understanding remains 
undistracted through the temporary restriction of 
the scope of attention. The division of discourse, 
by means of motion and rest, prevents the feeble- 



OF THE INTONATION AT PAUSES. 137 

ness or confusion of impression which would result 
from an unbroken procession of speech, no less 
remarkably than the skilful disposition of color, 
and light and space, disentangle the objects and 
figures of the canvass from the unmeaning positions 
and actions of a chaos and a crowd. 

The extent of the sections of discourse, thus se- 
parated by pauses, varies through all increasing 
degrees, from the limits of a single word to the in- 
clusion of a full member of a sentence. There are, 
indeed, some purposes of expression which require 
a pause even between syllables. It was shown, in 
treating of syllabication, that the full opening of 
the radical cannot be completely made, except it is 
preceded by a momentary occlusion of voice. Now 
the accented syllable of the word attack being an 
immutable quantity, can receive a marked empha- 
tic distinction, only by means of an abrupt explosion 
of the radical, after a temporary pause. 

The times of the several pauses of discourse vary 
in duration, from the momentary syllabic rest, to 
the full separation of successive paragraphs: the 
degrees being accommodated to the requisitions of 
the greater or less connexion of the sense, and to 
the peculiar demands of sentiment. 

All the parts of a continued discourse, which has 
the least unity of purport, should bear some rela- 
tion to each other. But these relations being seve- 
rally more or less close, grammatical points were 
invented to mark their varying degrees. The 
common points, are, however, very indefinitely ef- 
fective of their purposes, in the art of reading. 



188 



OF THE INTONATION 



They are described in books of elementary instruc- 
tion, principally with reference to the time of 
pausing , and are addressed to the eye, as indexes 
of grammatical structure. The symbols of interro- 
gation and of exclamation are said to denote pecu- 
liarity of tone 5 yet even with this vague reference 
to a rule, the ear is still without a guide in this im- 
portant branch of elocution. The character and 
efficacy of pauses consist, in a great measure, of the 
phenomena of intonation ; and a just definition of 
them would, perhaps, be more properly founded on 
variations and distinctions, produced by the phrases 
of melody, than on the different duration of the 
time of rest. I am not informed that any other 
writer, besides Mr. Walker, has taught the neces- 
sity of regarding the inflections of the voice, in the 
history of pauses. 

The effect of pause, in relation to the separation 
by rest, will be illustrated in the next section on the 
Grouping of the voice ; and I now proceed to de- 
scribe the condition of the melody or successions 
of pitch, to be used at the different places of pause. 

It is of much importance in speech, with regard 
to mere variety of sound as well as to sense and ex- 
pression, to apply a proper mode of intonation at 
the several pauses of utterance. The phrases of 
melody have here a positive signification, and often 
mark a continuation or a completion of the sense of 
discourse, when the construction alone would not 
be decisive of its nature. 

The triad of the cadence denotes a completion 
of the sense, and is therefore inadmissible, except 



AT PAUSES. 1$9 

on the last words of a series, containing an entire 
meaning. But it does not follow that reciprocally it 
must be always applied on the syllable* which ter- 
minate an independent sense ; for in those forms of 
com position called loose sentences, and in inverted 
periods, there are members with this complete and 
insulated meaning, which nevertheless do not admit 
of the downward closing phrase. 

The rising ditone indicates the most immediate 
connexion of the parts separated by the time of 
the pause. The phrase of the monotone denotes 
another, but a diminished degree of relationship 
between divided members : and the falling ditone 
produces the fullest suspension of sense, without 
obstructing its further continuation. The triad of 
the cadence is the maximum of distinction among 
the parts of discourse •, and the comparison of its 
downward intonation with the courses of the other 
phrases, may serve to explain the causes of the 
varying indication of each, by showing the gra- 
dations of departure from the form and direction 
of the disuniting cadence. The degrees of connex- 
ion between the members of sentences are so va- 
rious, and the acceptation of them by readers may 
be so different, that it would not be safe to propose 
a scheme for appropriating definitely the kind of 
phrase to every instance of pause. From present 
knowledge on this subject, I would say generally 
that the intonation of some pauses may be varied, 
without exceptionably affecting either sense or 
elocution ; and I am confident in asserting that there 



190 OF THE INTONATION 

are cases in which the species of phrase is abso- 
lutely unalterable. 

The foregoing remarks on the use of the phrases 
of melody, have not been made in allusion to 
common grammatical punctuation. Writers on elo- 
cution have long since ascribed the faults of read- 
ers, in part, to the vague nature of these points, and 
to the distracting effect of the caprice of editors in 
using them. 

In the notation of the following passage I shall 
apply the phrases of melody, with reference both 
to my own acceptation of the sense of the author, 
and to the distinct and vivid picture, producible by 
utterance, without regard to the directions of its 
punctuation. It is thus pointed by the editor : 

So spake the seraph Abdiel, faithful found 
Among the faithless, faithful only he ; 
Among innumerable false, unmoved, 
Unshaken, unseduced, unteniGed, 
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal ; 
Nor number, nor example, with him wrought 
To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind, 
Though single. 

When the reader looks upon the deviations of 
the pauses in the subsequent scheme, from the 
above editorial punctuation, I must beg him to 
bear in mind, that whether his decision is favourable 
to it or otherwise, it may still illustrate my idea 
of the power and place of the phrases. If this be 
accomplished, I shall not dispute about the free will 
of taste, in the particular uses of these phrases. 
My object in this essay, is to explain the general 



AT PAUSEfc 



191 



principles of the speaking voice: not to contend 
with expositors and critics. 

When I speak of the employment of a phrase of 
melody, at a pause of discourse, it must be under- 
stood that the phrase is to be applied to the last syl- 
lables preceding the pause. Nevertheless, for parti- 
cular purposes of expression, the monotone may be 
continued on the succeeding syllable. 

So spake the se raph Ab diel, faith — ful found 



^—4^-4—4-4-4 



A — mongr the faith-less. Faith — ful on ly 


he. 


^J-^ 4 4 * 4 







A — mong in nu me — ra — 


— ble false, 


ud — moved, 


4 4*4 4 4 


_4 4 





Un- 


— sha — ken, 


un- 


— se — duced, 


un— 


— ter- 


— ri — 


— fied, 


■*- 


4 4 


4- 


4 4 


4- 


4 


4 


-4— 



His loy — al — — ty he kept, his 


love, his zeal. 




44 4 4 4 4 4 


-^-^- 


1 
1 



Nor 


num — ber, 


nor 


ex- 


— am — pie, 


with 


him 


wrought 


-*- 


4 4 






4 4 






4 


_i 



To swerve 


from truth, 


or change 


his con — stant mind, 


* 4 


4 4_ 


4 ¥ 


d d J 4 


w 


^" W 



Though sin gle. 



]92 OF THE INTONATION 

The first pause at Abdiel is marked with a falling 
ditone, because the included member does not ne- 
cessarily produce the expectation of additional 
meaning or qualification : and because this phrase 
does not absolutely dissolve the grammatical con- 
cord between the members which it separates. I 
have set the triad of the cadence at " faithless," not 
exclusively upon the right to assume the sense as 
here completed ; but with a view to prepare for 
the eminent display of the sentiment contained in 
the remainder of the line. The editor has marked 
the pause with a comma, and thus made the three suc- 
ceeding words a dependent clause. I have regarded 
this clause as an elliptical sentence ; not only be- 
cause I might be justified in so doing by a gram- 
matical resolution of it, but more especially in 
order to promote the expressive effect of utterance. 
These words reiterate the previous attribution of 
faithfulness to Abdiel, with the further affirmation 
of his singleness in virtue. This definite and empha- 
tic restriction of the individuality of the subject, is 
made with mingled sentiments of regret over the 
rebellious rejection of truth, and of exultation that 
Abdiel alone has the undivided merit of defending 
it. There is a touch of feeling in these sentiments, 
which even with all other due means for an appro- 
priate utterance, cannot be answerably displayed, 
except the phraseology of those sentiments is se- 
parated from that of preceding and succeeding 
thoughts, by the marked distinctions of the cadence. 
If the word faithless be read with what is called, 
in elocution, a suspension of the voice, (that is, not a 



AT PAUSES. 193 

fall) the spirit of the clause or sentence which fol- 
lows will be perverted or lost. Milton's tine ear 
and his strong passions qualified him to be a good 
reader ; and though he may not have been one by 
practice, 1 would with difficulty believe that he 
thought the passage we have been considering, 
with the close sequence which is implied by the 
editor's comma and semicolon. 

The next pause alter " false," is preceded by the 
rising ditone. The structure of this member evi- 
dently creates expectancy, and the species of into- 
nation indicates the continuation of the sense. 

Of the four succeeding pauses, each rests on a 
single word. The three first are noted with the 
monotone, to foretel the continued progression of 
the sense : the fourth, at u terrified," has the fall- 
ing ditone, to denote a change, but not a close of 
thought. In ordering these four pauses, variety 
might be shown, without affecting the sense, by 
giving to the two last syllables of " unshaken," a 
rising phrase. The phrase at " kept" is the rising 
ditone; for since {Hove" and u zeal" are equally, with 
41 loyalty," the objectives of " kept/ and these objects 
being disjoined by construction, no other phrase at 
" kept," would so closely co-operate with the full 
pause which I have set at " zeal," and thereby 
tend to impress on an auditor the true syntax of 
the sentence. 

At " zeal," which is marked by the editor with a 

semicolon, I have applied a period, and a form 

of the cadence ; for this close, by throwing back 

" love" and " zeal," as objectives, prevents their 

c c 



194 OF THE INTONATION 

bearing forward as nominatives to some expected 
verb, which might not be obviated by a mere 
suspension of voice at the semicolon. The use of 
a cadence in this place puts the true grammatical 
construction of the sentence altogether out of doubt 
with the auditor. One can account for the employ- 
ment of the semicolon at " zeal/' by presuming 
that the editor considered the following word " nor" 
as a connective. It certainly begins a new sense *. 
and in regard both to its place and its immediate 
repetition, may be looked upon as a poetical inver- 
sion and a redundancy of negative. The remaining 
part of the notation contains examples of the prin- 
ciples just elucidated, and therefore needs no ex- 
planation. 

I have thus endeavoured to begin an effort to- 
wards supplying a blank in elocution, by giving a 
definite description of the modes of intonation, to be 
joined with the rests of the voice ; and by illustra- 
ting the manner in which we may frame principles, 
to direct the use of the several phrases. Those 
who desire knowledge of the structure of sentences, 
for the purpose of applying these principles, may 
consult books of rhetoric. Mr. Sheridan writes, 
with his usual ability, on the nature of pause, and 
gives numerous exemplifications of its proper use, 
But he makes no analysis of that intonation which 
he must have judiciously joined with it, in the ac- 
complished practice of his voice. Mr. Walker has 
also given a masterly treatise on this subject, in his 
Rhetorical Grammar. He wisely saw the practical 
utility of uniting with the doctrine of the temporal 



AT PAUSES. 195 

purpose of pause, an inquiry into the applicable 
modes of intonation. In a philosophical aspect of the 
subject, his treatise contains no description of the 
functions of pitch, beyond the general distinctions in- 
to rise and fall, and turn, which had been made long 
before his time. Mr. Walker undertook the investiga- 
tion of the nature of speech, without possessing a dis- 
criminating ear ; without sufficient familiarity with 
the known distinctions of sound, and without seeming 
to keep in mind the means of philosophical inquiry. 
The example of the highest masters of science, had 
taught that all he could aim to accomplish by his 
research, would be, to observe the phenomena of 
the voice, and to class them with known facts in the 
history of sound. But the most precise nomencla- 
ture of the properties of sound, if not the most com- 
prehensive history of them, is contained in the sci- 
ence of music : and Mr. Walker appears to have 
had too feeble or too limited a perception of its clear 
and abundant discriminations, to produce a recog- 
nition of identity or analogy between the modes of 
the speaking voice and the familiar phenomena of 
musical sounds. 

We may, perhaps, prudently despair, that even 
the keenest inquiry will teach us the efficient causes 
of the delicate structure of the vanishing movement; 
the reason why the melody of speech is prone to 
the diatonic progression, and why the voice so ac- 
curately falls in with the definite intervals of the 
musical scale. But it is certainly within the ability 
of a disciplined and attentive ear, to discover whe- 
ther certain sounds, supposed to be peculiar to the 



196 OF THE INTONATION AT PAUSES. 

human voice, are similar to others that have been 
accurately measured and definitely named, in the 
classifications of music ; and consequently, whether 
they might be designated by the same nomencla- 
ture, as far as the terms of music are applicable to 
the phenomena of speech. Such a mode of inves- 
tigation, with its satisfactory results, being the whole 
means and gains of a true and useful philosophy, 
we might as well believe that the Newtonian dis- 
coveries in optics, could have been effected without 
a previous acquaintance with the laws of motion, 
the variety of colours, and the relations of magni- 
tude and number, — as look for a development of 
the modes of the human voice, by him who is igno- 
rant of the known distinctions of sound. 



SECTION XII. 

Of the Grouping of Speech. 

I have adopted a term from the art of painting, 
to designate the instrumentality of pauses, and of 
certain affections of the voice, in uniting the related 
ideas of discourse, and in separating those which 
are unrelated to each other. 

The inversions of style, the intersections of ex- 
pletives and the wide separation of antecedents 
and relatives, which are allowed in poetry, may be 
made sufficiently perspicuous, through the circum- 
spection of the mind, and the advancing span of 
the eye, in the deliberate perusal of a sentence. 
But in listening to the speech or lecture of others, 
we can employ no scrutinizing hesitation : and 
though the memory may retrace, to a certain limit, 
the intricacies of construction, the best discernment 
carinot always anticipate the sense of a succeeding 
member, nor the nature and position of its pause. 
The higher poetry, in the contriving spirit of its 
eloquence, gives many instances of extreme invo- 
lution of style. A reader therefore, is frequently 
obliged to employ other means, for exhibiting the 
true relationship of words, besides that simple cur- 
rent of utterance, which may be sufficient for the 
clear syntax of a more natural idiom. 



198 O p THE GROUPING 

The means by which deviations from the simple 
construction of sentences may be rendered perspi- 
cuous in delivery, are — Pauses, and their attendant 
phrases of melody, which have been already in 
part explained : — the reduction of the pitch and 
force of the voice, for which I use the term Abate- 
ment: — a quickness of utterance, which I here call 
the Flight of the voice: and a mode of indicating 
grammatical connexion, which may be named the 
Emphatic Tie. These agencies are not newly 
discovered or appointed uses of speech. I have 
given to the terms abatement, flight, and em- 
phatic tie, a definite meaning, and have summed 
up the several means above enumerated, under 
the generic term Grouping, in order to explain 
their purposes by a metaphorical elucidation, and 
to invite attention to these points of our subject, 
by the institution of a definite nomenclature. 

The most common method of grouping the rela- 
ted parts of a sentence, under the bond of a given 
condition of the voice, is that which is effected by its 
continuity within the limits of pauses. This subject 
is so extensively treated in the art of elocution, 
that I give here but a single instance of the power of 
the pause, in separating the confluent ideas of a 
sentence, and in giving the proper independency 
to each. Let us take, from the second book of 
Paradise Lost, the description of Death's advancing 
to meet Satan, on his arrival at the gates of hell. 

Satan was now at hand and from his seat 
The monster moving onward came as fast 
With horrid strides. 



OF SPEECH. 199 

I have omitted the punctuation of this passage : 
and if it be correspondingly read without a pause, 
it will not be absolutely destitute of meaning •, for 
the auditor would understand the general course of 
the action described. But that force of expression 
which makes a vivid picture of the whole, through 
the distinct individuality of its parts, will be entirely 
lost. There are in this sentence four separate 
groups of thought, which should be indicated by 
three pauses. 

Satan was now at hand — and from his seat 
The monster moving— onward came as fast — 
"With horrid strides. 

The first division, ending with " hand," gives 
notice of the rapid approach of Satan. The se» 
cond represents the monster Death rising from his 
seat, and is insulated by a pause at moving. This 
clause is properly separated from the succeeding 
words ; for though they describe the further move- 
ment of Death, and in this view might seem to 
forbid the separation, yet their principal aim is to 
show the speed of his progress by comparing it 
with that of Satan, and this justifies the distinction 
Avhich is here made. The last division, " with horrid 
strides," must be separated from the preceding: 
for if it were read onward came as fast with horrid 
strides, the immediate connexion of the manner of 
movement with the declaration of the likeness be- 
tween the time of it, in the two characters, might 
authorize the conclusion that Death was striding as 
fast as Satan was striding. Whereas the pause at 
; ' fast'' refers that mode of progression to Death alone 



200 0F THE GROUPING 

agreeably to a previous part of the context, which 
describes Satan as moving on " swift wings." 

Some of the uses of the phrases of melody were 
stated in the preceding section. I here offer one or 
two examples of the effect of an appropriate melo- 
dy, in carrying on the connexion of thought, and 
in producing an immediate perception of gram- 
matical concord : 

On the other side, 
Incensed with indignation, Satan stood 
Unterrified, and like a comet bitrned, 
That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge. 
In the arctic sky. 

If the phrase of the falling ditone be used at the 
pause which must be made at " burned," it will break 
-the close connexion between the relative " that" and 
the antecedent " comet." But by applying the mo- 
notone, the relationship between these two words 
will be vividly impressed, notwithstanding the in- 
terposed pause at " burned :" the grouping power 
of the melody, in this case, counteracting the di- 
viding agency of the pause. 

A similar instance of the influence of the mono- 
tone, in affecting the close connexion of the ante- 
cedent with the relative, may be perceived at the 
pause after " unheard," in the following lines ; 

First, Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood 
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears ; 
Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud, 
Their children's cries unhealed, that passed through fire 
To his grim idol. 

Let us take one more example illustrative of the 
principle of intonation here laid down : 



OF SPEECH. 0()1 

Art thou that traitor-angel, art thou he 

"Who first broke peace in heaven, and faith, till then 

Unbroken ? 

In this passage the phrase " in heaven" is inter- 
posed between peace and faith, the two objectives 
of broke. Now in order that the syntactical con- 
nexion between these words may be impressively 
shown, the slightest pause only is admissible after 
" heaven," and a more conspicuous one must be 
placed after a faith/' But the further expletive 
" till then unbroken" is immediately connected 
with " faith ;" and the only means by which this 
close relationship can be represented in contraven- 
tion to the delay of the pause after Ck faith, 5, which 
was shown to be necessary for another point of per- 
spicuity, is by using the phrase of the rising ditone 
or the monotone on " faith." Thus the pause at this 
word represents clearly the full government of the 
verb " broke," whilst the phrase of melody at that 
pause, prevents the intersection of rest, from dis- 
solving the continuity of the previous sense with 
the succeeding expletive. The pages of poetry 
are full of instances of phraseology that require 
the management of the voice here described. Mil- 
ton and Shakspeare cannot be read well, without 
strict attention to the apparent collision between 
the purposes of the pause and of the sense, and to 
the reconciling power of the phrases of melody. 

The reduction of the Pitch and Force of the voice, 
being generally combined in reading, I have, in this 
section, designated them collectively, by a singly 
term, — the abatement of the voice. Common ele* 

Dd 



202 OF THE GROUPING 

mentary books are sufficiently explanatory of the 
nature and uses of this means, for exhibiting the 
sense and sentiment of discourse. Its power of 
grouping together the related parts of sentences, is 
shown by the well known mode of utterance in a 
parenthesis. 

I come now to speak of the perspicuity which 
may be given to a sentence, by what I have called 
the flight of the voice. There is a familiar rule in 
elocution, which directs us to use a quickened ut- 
terance on the common explanatory parenthesis. 
This function may be extended to other grammati- 
cal constructions. I give it here the importance of 
a name, and of a detailed discussion, from the in- 
dispensible necessity of employing it, for the clear 
display of the sense of some of those instances of 
close trimmed phraseology, and extreme inversion, 
which are occasionally found in the higher species 
of poetical composition. 

The extreme distortion of English idiom in the 
following lines, must be exceedingly perplexing to 
a reader 5 and, as far as I know, can be rendered 
somewhat less embarrassing, only by the use of the 
flight of the voice. The passage is taken from the 
fourth book of Paradise Lost, at the end of Satan's 
address to the sun. 

Thus while he spake, each passion dimm'd his face 
Thrice chang'd with pale, ire, envy, and despair ; 
Which marr'd his borrowed visage, and betray'd 
Him counterfeit, if any eye beheld. 

Milton uses the word " pale/' here, and at least 
in one other place of his poem, as a substantive. Its 



OF SPEECH. 203 

common adjective meaning tends to throw some 
confusion into the sentence. " Ire, envy, and des- 
pair," are in apposition with passion, and are seve- 
rally concordant with the distributive pronoun each. 
Now the only manner in which I can approximate 
towards a clear representation of this blameable 
piece of latinity, is by making a quick flight over 
the portion " dimm'd his face thrice changed with 
pale j" by laying a strong emphasis on " each pas- 
sion," and by applying the phrase of the rising di- 
tone, with a considerable pause, at " pale." 

After all, it is a hard picture to paint for a taste 
that will have true colors — well laid on. 

In the following example, I have marked, in ital- 
ics, the part which requires the flight of the voice: 

You and I have heard oar fathers say 
There was a Brutus once, that would have brook/d 
The eternal Devil to keep his state in Rome, 
As easily as a king. 

The word u easily," here qualifies the verb 
" brook'd ;" and I know no mode of showing this to 
the auditor, but by the rapid flight here directed. 
A London edition of Shakspeare, from which I 
quote this passage, has a pause after Rome. The 
rationale of the flight, which lies in allowing the 
least possible lapse of time between the utterance 
of related words, suggests the obliteration of this 
pause, and the addition of a slight one after " easi- 
ly." This tends to prevent the adverb from pass- 
ing as a qualification of " keeping his state," which 
certainly cannot be the sense of the author; but 
which, at a glance of hearing, might be mistaken 



204 0F TIIE GROUPING 

for it, without the aid of the altered pause and the 
flight. This is not the place to speak of the nice 
points of emphasis and of melody, to be connected 
with the flight of this passage, in order to give full 
lustre to its effect. 

Say first, for Heaven hides nothing from thy view, 
Nor the deep track of hell. 

To make it appear, at once, in speech, that the 
u deep track of hell" is, equally with " heaven," a 
nominative to u hides," the phrase of the monotone 
must be used at " view," in addition to the flight of 
the voice, on the portion marked in italics ; — nor 
should there be a pause at " view," as given by the 
editor. 

If the mere grammarian may conceive objections 
to any of these proposed alterations of punctuation, 
I must beg him to recur to the design of this sec- 
tion. We speak now of the means of addressing the 
ear, and its jealous demands sometimes justify a ne- 
glect of the constructive punctuation of a sentence; 
when the pauses directed by it are not absolutely- 
necessary, from the sense in these cases being ob- 
vious without them. The art of reading well ad- 
mits of the resource of compensating for voluntary 
faults on some points, by the accomplishment of 
eminent effects on others. 

By the grouping of Emphasis, or what I here 
call the Emphatic tie, I mean the application of 
emphasis to words, which would not, otherwise, re- 
quire distinction, merely for the purpose of associ- 
ating those ideas which cannot, by any other mode 



OF SPEECH. :205 

of vocal syntax, if I may so speak, be brought to- 
gether, or exhibited in their natural grammatical 
dependence. The process of this function may be 
easily understood : for related words, however dis- 
joined in composition, are at once brought within 
the field of hearing, in their real relationships, 
whenever they are raised into attractive import- 
ance, by force or any other kind of emphasis. 

The following stanza, from Collin's " Ode on the 
Passions," will illustrate the nature of this mode of 
grouping: 

"When Cheerfulness, a nymph of healthiest hue, 

Her bow across her shoulder flung, 

Her buskins gemm'd with morning dew, 

Blew an inspiring air, that dale and thicket ruDg- 

The hunter's call, to Faun and Dryad known. 

These two last lines have an embarrassing con- 
struction to a reader. Tlie phrases " inspiring air," 
and " hunter's call," are in apposition ; but there 
intervenes a clause, which might make "rung" 
pass for an active, instead of a neuter verb, and 
thereby render " call" the objective to it. To show, 
therefore, that by the " hunter's call" is meant the 
" inspiring air," previously mentioned, the words 
marked in italics should receive strong emphasis. 
This is the best mode for restoring to the ear that 
natural order which is inverted in the composition. 

This emphatic tie is often employed in combina- 
tion with other of the means of grouping. Thus, in 
the examples of the flight, it is necessary that the 
relationships between the words " each passion," 



206 OF THE GROUPING OF SPEECH. 

and "ire, envy, and despair," between "brook'd" and 
" easily," and between cc heaven" and " deep track 
of hell," should be joined by the emphatic tie. 

In the present section, and in the two preceding, 
we have been occupied, more by considering the 
audible means of displaying the sense of discourse, 
than by pointing out the signs of expression. But 
the delineation of sense must, in all cases, be co- 
existent with the representation of what is distinc- 
tively called sentiment. 

In this section, and in other parts of this essay, I 
have been induced to select examples for illustra- 
tion, from the prime works of poetry ; inasmuch as 
the strength and variety of their execution, afford 
the widest field for the use of the remarkable func- 
tions of speech ; and because I am persuaded, that 
if the principles which I am endeavouring to pro- 
mulgate, be comprehended by the reader, he will 
have no difficulty in applying them to the less in- 
tricate modes of prose. Yet I must again repeat, 
that I have taken upon myself the part of a physio- 
logist, not of a rhetorician. 



SECTION XIII. 

Of the Interval of tlie Octave. 

Lx the foregoing history of expression, the part 
performed by the variations of Pitch was described, 
only as it appears in the radical and vanishing move- 
ment, through the interval of a single tone. 

In speaking of the diatonic use of the concrete, 
and of its progress in the melody of simple narra- 
tive, it was said that the vanish never rose above 
the interval of a tone ; and that the variations of the 
radical pitch, whether upwards or downwards,never 
exceeded the limits of this same interval. Now 
such unpassionate narrative as was then supposed, 
is rarely found in any continuance : but the mode 
and occasions of the exceptions having been re- 
served for future explanation, I avoided confusing 
the subject then in hand, by restrictive remarks, 
which could not have been understood without 
much digressive explanation. The wider intervals 
of pitch which are used for expression, are now to 
be described. 

By the term Octave, which is set at the head of 
this section, is meant the concrete rise of the voice, 
from any assumed place, through superior parts of 



£03 OF THE INTERVAL 

the scale, until it ends or vanishes in the eighth 
degree, or in the octave to that radical at which it 
began. This concrete interval is employed for the 
expression of interrogation ; and it is further used 
as one of the means for distinguishing words, by the 
function which is called emphasis. The octave is 
not limited to those phrases alone which carry the 
common grammatical notation of a question. There 
are some declaratory sentences which are made' 
interrogative, by intonation ; and there are many 
occasions in discourse, on which the sentiments of 
the speaker are so nearly poised between certainty 
and doubt, that he admits, by an interrogative move- 
ment, the hesitation of inquiry, in the very confi- 
dence of assertion. The octave being the widest 
interval of the speaking scale, is significative of the 
greatest vehemence or earnestness of an interroga- 
tive sense. It is likewise the appropriate mode of 
intonation, if the question is accompanied with sneer, 
contempt, mirth, raillery, and the temper or tri- 
umph of quick and of peevish argument. 

From the time required in drawing out the in- 
terval of an octave, it must be obvious, that this 
mode of interrogation can be executed conspicu- 
ously, only on a syllable capable of prolongation — 
How then can the interrogative expression be given 
on a short and immutable syllable? 'The process 
by which this is done, will be described hereafter, 
with particular reference to interrogative senten- 
ces. It may be here transiently illustrated, by the 
following notation : — 



OF THE OCTAVE. 209 



pggf 



In this scheme, it is visible that the discrete 
change or skip of radical pitch, is made from that 
line which is on a level with the radical pitch of 
the concrete octave, used in a sentence, to a line 
along the height of the vanish of that same octave. 
Now immutable syllables, in an interrogative sen- 
tence, are transferred to the pitch of an octave by 
the radical change ; and thus receive the expres- 
sive coloring of that interval, though less remarka- 
bly than the indefinite syllables which pass through 
the concrete rise. As the number of short syllables 
exceed the long ones, in most sentences, the dis- 
crete change, here spoken of, must be the predomi- 
nating mode of interrogative intonation. The above 
notation shows further, that after the radical pitch 
has assumed the line of the vanishing octave, the 
voice proceeds in the diatonic melody on that line, 
until the occurrence of a syllable which requires 
and will bear the concrete rise ; when the radical 
pitch descends to form a new octave concrete. It 
appears then, that the rule of intonation, laid down 
when speaking of the melody of simple narration, 
is not that of the melody of interrogative sentences; 
for these employ a more extended concrete inter- 
val, and a wider discrete transition in their changes 
of radical pitch. 

When the octave is used for the purpose of em- 
phasis, the voice immediately descends after its 
e e 



210 OF THE INTERVAL OF THE OCTAVE. 

concrete rise on the emphatic word, to the original 
line of radical pitch, as in the following notation: — 




But this matter of emphasis is lo be treated more 
particularly, and to be illustrated hereafter. 

I have to remark finally, on the use of the con- 
crete octave and its radical change, as the means 
of interrogative and emphatic expression, that as 
this highest interval of the scale is employed for 
the most earnest degrees of these purposes, it is of 
less frequent occurrence in speech, than the follow- 
ing intervals of the fifth and the third. 



SECTION XIV. 



Of the Interval of the Fifth. 

The concrete rise by intonation to the Fifth 
place of the musical scale, is used as the means of 
expression in speech. This is not the place to in- 
quire, why the speaking voice fixes on certain 
points as the limit of its progress through the scale. 
There is a theory of harmony which might be as- 
sumed as the ground of contentious, and, perhaps, 
of unsuccessful argument, on this subject. This 
proclivity of the voice does, however, exist ; and 
the place of the octave, the fifth, and three other 
points, to be mentioned hereafter, are the several 
limits, set by nature, to the concrete intervals of 
speech. 

The radical and vanishing fifth, like the octave, 
is used for interrogation and for emphasis. It has, 
however, less of the smart inquisitiveness which is 
implied by the octave. It is the most common 
mode of interrogative intonation. It may express 
the question with sentiments of wonder and admi- 
ration. It has none of the flippancy of the octave. 
It is equally capable of energy, and is always more 
dignified in its appeal. The remarks made in the 
last section, on the subject of the change of radical 



2\2 OF THE INTERVAL 

pitch, in interrogation and emphasis, apply to the 
like uses of the fifth. That is, in interrogative 
sentences, after the voice has made a discrete 
change by radical pitch, through the interval of a 
fifth, the succeeding melody may continue at its 
elevation, till again brought down for the purpose 
of a new concrete rise: and after the use of the fifth 
for emphatic distinction on a single word, the pitch 
immediately returns to the original line of the cur- 
rent melody. 

From the preceding account of the intonation of 
the octave and of the fifth, we learn that their effects 
are cognizable under two modes — the concrete rise, 
and the radical change ; that the former of these 
modes is impressed more remarkably on the ear; 
and that the distinction between the interrogative 
and emphatic use of these intervals, consists in the 
difference of the number of syllables, to which these 
intervals are applied. 

The intonation of the octave, whether by con- 
crete or by radical pitch, was said to be of rare oc- 
currence j since a rise of eight notes above the or- 
dinary course of the melody, carries most speakers 
into the falsette. And even with those in whom the 
rise does not exceed the natural voice, the change 
to that high pitch would often be offensively ludi- 
crous, from its sudden contrast ; or, it would be in 
danger of breaking into the falsette in its variations-, 
or, it would be out of the limits of skilful execution 
by the speaker. These reasons do not prevail 
against an occasional transition of radical pitch 
through the ascent of the fifth 5 the variation being 



OF THE FIFTH. 213 

less striking in contrast, and the interval of a fifth 
above the common range of the voice being rarely 
beyond practicable management. 

Besides the above described uses of the octave 
and fifth, there are, in common life, some cant 
modes of exclamation, and other familiar and vulgar 
voices which are made on these intervals. I de- 
cline to take further notice of them. 



SECTION XV. 

Of the Interval of the Third. 



The concrete Third, like the two last named 
intervals, is used in asking a question, and in the 
intonation of emphasis. But the strength of its in- 
dication is less than the fifth. It is merely the sign 
of simple interrogation, in its most moderate degree; 
and carries with it none of those sentiments which, 
jointly with the question, were allotted to those 
other movements. 

Besides the exceptions to the rule of the plain 
diatonic melody, in the use of the octave and fifth, 
it must now be added, that the general current of 
the tone is further varied, by the introduction of 
the interval of the concrete third, and by the change 
of radical pitch through the extent of this interval. 
It is more frequently used than either of the two 
former ; for, although it is more rarely emplojed 
than the fifth, in interrogation, it is the most com- 
mon form of emphatic intonation. In pointing out 
the phrases of melody, it was said, that the rising 
tritone, or upward succession of three tones, on as 
many syllables, was occasionally employed. Now 
the union of the constituents of this tritone on one 
syllable, makes the proper radical and vanishing 



OF THE INTERVAL OF THE THIRD. 215 

third of this section. It is the concrete junction of 
the three tones which creates their impressive 
powers \ for if the phrase " Go you there," be ut- 
tered with the rising tritone, or with one syllable 
successively, a tone above the preceding, it will 
still have the character of an imperative sentence. 
But if the first word should move through the space 
of the tritone by a concrete rise, and the two 
others should be uttered at the top of that concrete, 
by the radical change, the sentence would be in- 
terrogative. The same would be the case if the 
second word had the concrete, and the last the ra- 
dical change •, or, if the two former were to have 
the common diatonic melody, and the last alone the 
concrete rise. These would be the different pro- 
cesses for effecting the interrogative expression, 
according as the sense might require the emphasis 
on different words. 

There is a mode of replication in common speech, 
especially used by the Scots, consisting of a repeti- 
tion of the affirmative yes, or aye, in the radical and 
vanishing third \ and whilst the words would pay 
the courtesy of an assent, the interrogative nature 
of the intonation still insinuates the hesitation of 
doubt or surprise. If the sentiments which dictate 
these words should be of unusual energy, the ex- 
pression may assume the form of the fifth, or octave. 

When the reader will hereafter have acquired 
the prefatory knowledge which is necessary for the 
full comprehension of the nature of emphasis, it 
will be definitely explained, in what manner and 
on what occasions the octave, the fifth, and the third. 



216 OF THE INTERVAL 

are employed, in this important function of correct 
and impressive speech. But it may belong to this 
place to remark, that as the emphasis which is given 
to the prominent words of concessive, conditional, 
and hypothetical sentences, carries with it, in a 
measure, the latent sentiment of an interrogatory, 
its application may properly be illustrated here. 
The following examples of conditionality and con- 
cession, call for a high interval on the words mark- 
ed in italics. 

Then when I am thy captive talk of chains, 
Proud limitary Cherub! but ere then 
For heavier load thyself expect to feel 
From my prevailing arm, though Heaven's king 
Ride on thy wings. 

So in the hypothesis of the following sentence : 

If 1 must contend, said he, 



Best with the best, the sender, not the sent. 

And the same with the exceptive phrase marked 
in these lines : 

The undaunted fiend what this might be, admired; 
Admired, not feard. God and his Son except, 
Created thing nought valued he, nor shunn'd. 

It is not to the purpose to show here, which of 
the high intervals is to be set respectively on the 
strong words of these examples. The citations 
were made, merely to inform that the third or fifth, 
or octave, is to be used on the emphatic syllables 
of such sentences. 



OF THE THIRD. 217 

It may perhaps be useful, in this place, for the 
reader to take a retrospect over the subject of me- 
lody, as it has thus far been described ; and to look 
upon it as consisting of the diatonic succession for- 
merly enumerated, varied by the occasional intro- 
duction of the higher intervals of the octave, 
fifth, and third. In speaking of the melody of sim- 
ple narrative, the possible phrases of that style 
were reduced to six elementary forms. It may be 
thought that the further use of these higher inter- 
vals, in the transitions of pitch, justifies an ad- 
ditional nomenclature, for the phrases which are 
employed in expression. It does so; and the phrase 
of the eighth, of the fifth, and of the third, whether 
the transition be made by the concrete rise, or by 
the radical change, are the terms by which these 
new forms of melodial progression in speech may 
be designated 



Ff 



SECTION XVI. 

Of the Intonation of Interrogative Sentences. 

Having ascribed the powers of interrogation to 
the octave and fifth and third, I defer, for a mo- 
ment, the history of the remaining elements of pitch, 
in order to point out the mode of employing those 
intervals, in the course of an interrogative sentence; 
that we may thereby learn how they -are related to 
the current melody, and to the close of the ca- 
dence. 

With a view to exhibit the forceful effect of the 
interrogative intervals, when unsupported by those 
grammatical constructions which generally indicate 
a question, let us take the following sentence : 

Give Brutus a statue with his ancestors. 

This sentence is significative of an intention to 
honour the patriot, and is imperative in that pur- 
pose. But if the versatile plebeian should, the next 
moment, have a new light of discernment, he might 
deny the tribute, by repeating the very words of 
his decree, with the sneering intonation of a ques- 
tion — 

Give Brutus a statue with his ancestors? 

The different modes of the voice in these two in- 
stances, would be apparent to every hearer : nor 



OF THE INTONATION, &c. £19 

could the altered intention of the speaker, in the 
last case, be mistaken. The conspicuous effect of 
this line, when read in the latter way, proceeds from 
the use of the rising interval of the fifth on each of 
the syllables ; and it shows the power of that rise 
in changing an imperative to an interrogative 
expression. I say, the interval is used either con- 
cretely or by a radical change, on each syllable of 
the sentence. In this way the question is com- 
pletely and strongly conveyed ; for should the 
fifth be employed upon every word except the 
last, and should this be uttered with the diato- 
nic triad, the sentiment of the speaker will be lost. 
If the interrogative effect be given to the last 
word, and omitted on the others, it will, in some 
degree, denote an inquiry ; but much less forci- 
bly than when the intonation is applied to every 
syllable. The preceding examples were given, 
merely to show the effect of the higher intervals, 
when compared with the simple concrete of the 
tone or second, in a diatonic melody. A description 
of the manner of applying these intervals, for the 
purposes of interrogation, is reserved for an ap- 
proaching page. 

Before we enter on this proposed analysis, the 
purposes of elementary instruction require some 
notice of the different degrees of the interrogative 
expression 5 since some sentences demand its em- 
ployment on every syllable, whilst others are fully 
significative of the question, by its partial applica- 
tion. But to be more definite. By the term Tho- 
rough interrogative expression, I mean the use of 



£20 OF THE INTONATION 

the intended interval on every syllable of the sen- 
tence. By Partial interrogative expression — the 
use of the interval on one or a few syllables -, others, 
and particularly those at the close, having the me- 
lody of plain declarative discourse. 

The proper reading of the questions contained in 
the following selections, may serve to illustrate the 
nature of the above named division. When Cla- 
rence enters, guarded, at the end of the opening 
soliloquy of King Richard III, Gloster thus addres- 
ses him : — 

Brother, good day! what means this armed guard 
That waits upon your grace? 

Here the interrogative intonation is heard only 
on the clause, what means this armed guard; the 
rest of the sentence has both the current and ca- 
dence of the common diatonic melody. 

When the queen, in the third scene of the first 
act, says : 

By Heaven, I will acquaint his majesty 
Of those gross taunts I often have endured, 

Gloster retorts: 

What! threat you me with telling of the king? 

This proud and angry question must have the in- 
terrogative intonation throughout its current, with 
the unfinished rising at the close, or it will not ex- 
press the spirit of the speaker. 

As the characteristic mode in each of these ques- 
tions cannot be interchangeably transferred, and as 
every question has either an appointed universality 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. ££1 

or a restriction, in the degree of its expression, it 
is a necessary inference, that some directive prin- 
ciples must be operative on good readers, in desig- 
nating the places and marking the limits of this ex- 
pression. I have only transiently investigated this 
curious subject of speech. The result of my obser- 
vation persuades me, that the subject itself is not 
beyond the purpose of this essay ; though I have 
not, at present, time nor need to make this matter 
extended in contemplation, and satisfactory in sys- 
tem. I therefore beg the reader to receive the fol- 
lowing remarks, as suggestions upon points of in- 
quiry ; and as hesitating proposals, which will be 
cheerfully submissive under correction, and readily 
revocable before the influence of a broader view, 
and a more discriminating analysis. 

If I perceive rightly the relationship between 
the intonation and the words of a question, the cir- 
cumstances which direct the thorough and the par- 
tial use of expression, arise out of the following con- 
ditions of the form and spirit of the phraseology. 

Sentences are employed with an interrogative in- 
tention, under various modes of construction. They 
are framed assertively, and derive the power of a 
question solely from intonation : or they are made 
by the reversed position of the natural order of the 
nominative and verb : or by joining certain pro- 
nouns or adverbs with the preceding condition : or 
they are of a positive or negative texture : or they 
may embrace expletive or assertive clauses, in 
connexion with the phrase containing the point 
of the question : or they may include two or more 



222 OF THE INTONATION 

questions connected by a copulative or disjunctive 
conjunction : or finally, two or more interrogative 
sentences may separately succeed each other in 
series. 

With respect to the sentiment or spirit of the 
phrase, an inquiry may be grounded on the real 
ignorance or doubt of the interrogator : or it may 
intimate a knowledge of the subject ; nay, in an 
extension of this condition, a question is sometimes 
put as a triumphant mode of assertion. Interroga- 
tions may be urged with great earnestness, or ad- 
dressed in a moderate temper ; they may be made 
with surprize or scorn or exultation. 

These are some of the varieties under which 
interrogative sentences appear. I exclude from 
this view, all those interjective clauses and appeal- 
ing exclamations which careless editors or incom- 
petent correctors of the press frequently mark 
with a note of interrogation. 

If we try the experiment of utterance, in the 
various cases above mentioned, we may be able to 
deduce some general rules on this subject i or fur- 
nish approximations towards them, for the assistance 
of future researches. Let us measure the success of 
the following attempt. 

It may be laid down as a rule, without an ex- 
ception, that where the sentence has the assertive 
construction, it requires the Thorough expression. 
In addition to an example of this case, given in 
a preceding page, I here offer an illustration from 
King Richard III, in which nearly the same words 
are used as an assertive and as an interrogative 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 223 

phrase. In the third scene of the first act, Gloster 
says to the queen : 

You may deny, that you were not the cause 
Of my lord Hastings' late imprisonment. 

Rivers. She may my lord ; for — 

Gloster. She may lord Rivers ? 

The reason of this rule is obvious. For if the 
interrogative expression be applied exclusively to 
any one of the words of this sentence, except the 
last, it will constitute a mere declaration, with the 
emphasis on the word so marked. If the expres- 
sion be made on the last, while the other words 
run in the diatonic melody, the reading will fall 
short of the sense of the phrase, if it should not, 
indeed, misrepresent it : for under this condition 
the unexpected rise at the close, instead of the con- 
sistent termination by the cadence, will produce an 
anomaly of utterance irreducible, by me at least, 
to any design of expression. 

When a sentence is constructed with the inter- 
rogative pronouns or adverbs, and embraces none 
of those sentiments which, I am presently about to 
say, call for the Thorough expression, it generally 
appears under the Partial form. 

JVho hath descried the number of the traitors? 
How came these things to pass? 
What sum owes he the Jeu- ? 

It will perhaps be admitted, that these instan- 
ces do not require so strong and diffused a light 
of intonation, as was given in the foregoing ques- 



224 OF THE INTONATION 

tionary form of a plain declaration. Some of the 
exceptions to the generality of this rule will be 
mentioned, in speaking of the varying sentiments 
of an interrogative phrase, and of its final empha- 
tic syllable. If there could be any purpose in deter- 
mining the reason of this rule, it might be worth 
ascertaining, to what point the question is particu- 
larly directed, in sentences constructed with the 
adverb and with the pronoun ; and whether the ex- 
istence or action of the subject is not admitted in the 
inquiry : the uncertainty being only about the per- 
son or thing, and the manner, time, place, or degree 
of its existence or agency, which are especially 
couched in the adverb and pronoun. 

When the question is made by the nominative 
being placed after the verb or auxiliary, either the 
^Partial or the Thorough intonation is employed. I 
need not illustrate the varieties of this case : the 
reader can readily recur to examples of the rule, 
and judge of its correctness. The propriety of the 
choice of diverse modes of intonation, in questions 
falling under this head, must be determined by the 
nature of the sentiment, the place or places of the 
emphasis, and the form of the sentence, whether 
it be short and simple, or extended and complex. 

Questions constructed with pronouns or adverbs, 
or with the reversed nominative, are made directly 
to the point of inquiry, or indirectly by a negative, 
to its opposite. The intonation of such questions 
has the Thorough or Partial expression, according 
to the spirit or the emphasis of the sentence. The 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 225 

reader may run over the dialogue of the drama and 
find examples enough for the proof or correction 
of what is said on this point. 

When a sentence, besides the point of the ques- 
tion, has additional members or phrases which con- 
tain an address to a person, or assertions or exple- 
tives, or causes, the expression is generally partial, 
as in the following instances : 

Of address : 

Why with some little train, my lord of Buckingham r 

Of assertion : 

Why did you laugh then, when I said, Man delights not me ? 

Of expletive: 

What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, 
That he should weep for her? 

Of cause: 

What of his heart perceive you in his face, 
By any likelihood he showed to-day? 

The reason of this rule may be easily pointed 
out. Though these additional clauses do modify, 
in some degree, the leading point of the question, 
yet they do not, in their separable membership, 
carry an interrogation, which that portion of the 
sentence, called here the point of the question, does. 

When two or more questions of moderate tem- 
per are connected by conjunctions, or when with- 
out this union by particles, they succeed in series, 
it is not necessary that each constituent should bear 



226 OF THE INTONATION 

the degree of expression which an insulated posi- 
tion of it might require. 

K. B-ichard. Give me thy hand. Thus high, by thy advice, 
And thy assistance, is king Richard seated:— 
But shall we wear these glories for a day? 
Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them? 



Are you call'd forth from out a world of men. 
To slay the innocent? What is my offence? 
Where is the evidence that doth accuse me? 
What lawful quest have given their verdict up 
Unto the frowning judge? or who pronounced 
The bitter sentence of poor Clarence' death? 

If this rule is not contravened by conditions 
which require universally the thorough expression, 
the question, in such instances of conjunction and 
of series as the above, is sometimes sufficiently 
marked, if some of the constituents of the series 
carry an interrogative interval on a single word ; 
which reduces the expression to the state of a de- 
clarative sentence, having an emphatic word, so 
signalized by the given interval. Perhaps the rea- 
son of the rule may lie in this : when the mind or 
ear of the auditor is in the humor of the question, 
if I may so speak, the interrogation is sufficiently 
indicated by the grammatical construction of the 
sentence. 

With respect to the sentiment or the spirit of 
an interrogation, there are some notable properties 
which seem to govern the use of intonation. 

When the question is prompted by the ignorance 
or uncertainty of the speaker, and when it contains 
a real inquiry, it generally bears the thorough ex- 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. £0,7 

pression. Consequent]}', the sentiment of this case, 
will, in man j instances, overrule the formulae which 
were laid down, for the partial intonation of senten- 
ces constructed with pronouns or adverbs, or with 
the inverted position of the nominative case, or for 
sentences following in conjunction or series. 

Then make a ring about the corpse of Caesar, 
And let me show you him that made the will. 
Shall I descend? And will you give me leave? 

Knowest thou not any, whom corrupting gold 
Would tempt unto a close exploit of death? 

Although in the stated form of this rule, I have 
ascribed to it only a general operation, yet, when 
the question is made with much earnestness, the 
bearing of the rule is universal. 

The extent of intonation appropriated to those 
questions which are made argumentatively, or in 
the way of a confident appeal, varies from the full 
thorough expression, through all the degrees of its 
partial use, to that application of the interrogative 
interval on a single word of a sentence, which con- 
stitutes the mere emphasis of a diatonic melody. 

When a question is vehemently rpade, under any 
construction of the sentence, and however nume- 
rous such questions are, either in conjunction or 
in series, the rule may be received as very gene- 
ral, which assigns to the expression the thorough 
extent. 

Show me what thou'lt do! 
Woo't weep? vvoo*t fight? woo't fast? woo't tear thyself? 



22B OF THE INTONATION 

Woo't drink up Esil? eat a crocodile? 
I'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine? 
To outface me with leaping in her grave? 

The reader may find full illustration of this rule, 
by turning to Shylock's noted parallel between the 
Jew and the Christian, with his earnest resolve 
upon revenge — in the first scene of the third act of 
the Merchant of Venice. 

If a question be addressed in a moderate temper 
of inquiry, the speaker will generally affect the 
partial mode of expression. When Hamlet says to 
Guildenstern, 

Will you play on this pipe? 

the composure of mind, and the rank of the prince, 
mingle in the question the mild authority of a re- 
quest, with the doubt of an inquiry; and this is per- 
haps properly represented by the use of the inter- 
rogative intonation on the first part of the sentence, 
with a subsequent reposing descent of the diatonic 
cadence. It is true, the instrument is brought into 
the scene, and the question is thereupon put, with 
a view to the consequent quibble ; and on this 
ground, perhaps, the word pipe might be regarded 
as emphatic. Still the emphasis may be made by 
a stress or force of voice on the last constituent of 
the triad, as well as by the ascent of the interroga- 
tive interval. 

When a question is made in surprise, indignation, 
pride, scorn, and other emotions of a similar spirit, 
it generally receives the thorough expression. I 
cannot transcribe from the first act of Hamlet, so 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 229 

much as it furnishes to illustrate the influence of 
wonder, on the intonation of a question. But if the 
reader will turn to the scene between Hamlet, Ho- 
ratio, and the two officers, he will find, that from 
the moment Horatio informs Hamlet of his having 
seen his father, there follows, on the part of the 
prince, a long succession of questions, with both the 
declaratory and interrogative construction ; which 
all require the most marked use of the thorough 
expression. With like earnestness, Cleopatra, in 
the play which bears her name with Antony's, 
says to Proculeius, the friend of Caesar, 

Know sir, that I 
Will not wait pinioned at your master's court — 
Nor once be chastised with the sober eye 
Of dull Octavia. Shall they hoist me up, 
And show me to the shouting varletry 
Of censuring Rome? Rather a ditch in ^Egypt 
Be gentle grave unto me. 

The repulsive indignation of this question cannot 
be fairly painted, without the fullest measure of in- 
terrogative coloring. 

If the last syllable of a question is emphatic, and 
if its intonation is not forcibly directed to the par- 
tial expression, by some one of the preceding rules, 
particularly by that which concerns the series, that 
last syllable bears the interrogative interval. And 
if the sentence be short or consist of a single mem- 
ber, the expression will have a thorough applica- 
tion. In the dialogue between the murderers of 
Clarence, the second speaker exclaims and asks. 

— What ! shall we stab him as he sleeps ? 



£30 0F THE INTONATION 

From the answer of his companion, it is plain 
that the question points at the act of sleeping, and 
this produces an interrogative emphasis on the last 
word. If the inquiry had been whether the victim 
should be stabbed or strangled, the word stab 
would carry the emphatic intonation, and the sen- 
tence might end with the diatonic cadence. 

Having thus endeavoured to bring the subject 
of interrogative sentences, as regards the entire or 
the partial application of their expressive intona- 
tion into something like a systematic form, I must 
leave the correction of the errors of the effort, and 
the amplifying of its approved hints, to the obliga- 
tory duty of the rhetorician. 

Let us now proceed to consider more particularly 
the manner in which the interrogative intervals are 
applied to the individual syllables of a sentence. 

As prefatory to this investigation I must here 
make some remarks on the use of the radical and 
vanishing movement, when applied to the short and 
the immutable syllables of the language. I for- 
merly suggested the modes of trial, by which the 
existence of the various concretes might be exem- 
plified on long syllables : and I likewise asserted 
that no syllable could be uttered without passing 
through the radical and vanish, under some form of 
intonation. We have now reached a point in our 
subject, at which the reader may receive the proof 
of this assertion, as respects the equable concrete 
of speech. 

I must suppose that the reader is familiar with 
the effect of the concrete rise through the third or 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 231 

fifth or octave which constitutes the interrogative 
expression. Now let him take the immutable syl- 
lable, u cat," which is one of the shortest in the lan- 
guage, and pronounce it as if he were making a 
simple address to the animal. Again, let him utter 
it as a question : and he will perceive that with 
whatever rapidity it may be pronounced, he can 
still accomplish, on it, the peculiar effect of the in- 
terrogative intonation. There is therefore in the 
last experiment some accident of the voice which 
is not heard in the first. The distinction between 
the two cases arises solely from the use of a wider 
transit of the concrete progress in the latter. For 
it may be readily shown that it does not proceed 
from any peculiarity in the quality, nor from a cer- 
tain degree in the force of the voice : and that it is 
not produced solely by a change of the syllable 
to a high place of pitch, without its concrete 
movement, may be ascertained by the following 
experiment. Let the reader, rise through the 
musical scale, in the ordinary way of running the 
gamut, by repeating the above given syllable, on 
the successive notes of the scale ; he will perceive 
that to whatever height he ascends, the intonation 
will not produce the interrogative expression. I 
know not to what the interrogative effect, which 
may be heard on an immutable syllable, is to be 
ascribed, if not to a rapid flight of the voice through 
a concrete interrogative interval. The audible effect 
justifies the conclusion •, though the increments of 
time, and of space on the scale, which are so dis- 
tinctly perceptible in the movement of the slower 



2S2 0F THE INTONATION 

concrete, are in this case of the immutable syllable, 
altogether beyond my power of measurement. 

It will appear in the trials above proposed, that 
the interrogative effect is producible on the short- 
est syllables : and such experiments will warrant 
the general conclusion, that every interval of the 
scale is practicable on every syllable in speech. 
But it is to be remarked that the use of the wider 
intervals on short syllables, when compared with 
their application to long and indefinite ones, has a 
feebleness of interrogative expression directly pro- 
portional to the rapidity of their flight ; and conse- 
quently that the long and distinctly measurable 
concrete on indefinite syllables produces the strong- 
est expression of interrogation. But it is desirable, 
with regard to sentences bearing the thorough ex- 
pression, that it should be equally diffused : and as 
all the syllables of a sentence are not by length 
qualified to bear the slow and most eminent inter- 
rogative concrete, it follows that other means, be- 
sides those already described, must be employed 
in the intonation of short syllables, for the purpose 
of fulfilling strongly and uniformly the expressive 
design of an uttered question. The means for 
strengthening the comparative feebleness of inter- 
rogative expression on short syllables, consists in 
raising them, by the change of radical pitch, to the 
line of the summit of the slow concretes, which 
are allotted to the indefinite quantities in a sen- 
tence : as the following notation of a case of tho- 
rough expression will exemplify : 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 233 

Give Bru tus a sta — tue with bis an— ces — tors ? 



&=£ 



In this scheme the interrogative intonation is 
made by the fifth on every syllable. To the two 
first, which are indefinite and emphatic, the slow 
concrete is applied. On the third, which is short, 
and therefore cannot bear the slow concrete, the 
momentary rapid movement through the fifth takes 
place, whilst at the same time it is transferred by 
the radical change, to the height of the preceding 
vanish. The melody continues at this height on 
all the following syllables, which are unemphatic, 
or which if emphatic (as may be said of " stat") 
are of immutable quantity. At the indefinite sylla- 
ble u an" the radical pitch descends, for the purpose 
of rising on that syllable by the slow concrete : and 
the two final short quantities terminate the intona- 
tion by the radical change and the rapid vanish. 

It is by this method then, viz. the union of the 
radical change with the rapid concrete, that a full 
and forcible power of interrogative intonation is 
given to those syllables which are too short to admit 
of the slower and more measurable movement. 

If the reader would be better satisfied, as to the 
execution of the function of the radical change, and 
the perception of its effect, through an exemplifica- 
tion on a single word, let him deliberately pro- 
nounce the noun " convict,'' as if it were an earnest 
question. The syllable " con" being an indefinite 
h h 



234 OF THE INTONATION 

quantity, and emphatic, will be distinctly heard to 
rise concretely from a given point of pitch, to the 
place of the fifth or octave, according to the earnest- 
ness of the expression: and the immutable syllable 
" vict," will be heard at the height of that previous 
vanish. If u vict" be kept down at the level of the 
radical of " con," and if it be there uttered, with the 
rapid concrete rise, carefully guarding against the 
descent to a close, the interrogative effect will in- 
deed still be perceptible, but in a degree far infe- 
rior to the keen questioning of the former mode of 
intonation. 

It is not difficult to assign the reason why the in- 
terrogative effect of the rapid concrete is enhanced, 
by its being taken on the higher places of the scale. 
For the rise by the slow concrete, is after all, but a 
peculiar mode of change from a low to a high place 
of pitch: and though that peculiar continuous mode 
is plainly distinguishable, in its degree of expres- 
sion, from a discrete ascent to the same height, still 
an essential though not the exclusive power of the 
former function, is, its designating that higher place. 
Now this power is the sole efficient in the radical 
change ; and like two discrete notes on a musical 
instrument, when heard in immediate succession as 
the extremes of a wide interval of the scale, it does 
produce an effect closely resembling that which 
arises from a concrete transition of sound between 
the same extremes. If to this effect of the radi- 
cal change, be added the coincident and co-opera- 
ting expression of the rapid concrete, the combined 
effects become equivalent to that interrogative ex- 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. £35 

pression which is given by the longer concrete on 
an indefinite syllable. 

As the rapid concrete on a short syllable, wheth- 
er it be emphatic or not, does, however moderately, 
produce an interrogative impression, it may be 
used, without the radical change, in those cases 
which do not require a strongly marked intonation 
of the question. That is, all the interrogative sylla- 
bles of sentences which bear the partial expression, 
(for a thorough expression is generally forcible,) 
may be kept at about the same line of radical pitch. 
But the syllables so disposed must still perform 
their rapid concrete in the appropriate interroga- 
tive interval: and it will generally be found that the 
moderate temper of such questions receives the 
abated expression which was ascribed to the Third, 
in the history of that interval. 

Besides that certain succession of radical change 
which has been noted and explained, there is this 
other mode, in the application of the general prin- 
ciple of its construction. If the first part of a sen- 
tence should consist of short quantities, which resist 
extention through the slow concrete, the interroga- 
tive expression may be made, by the voice setting 
out at once on the high pitch, and descending after- 
wards at the first emphatic syllable of long quantity, 
which will bear the slow concrete. Thus, if we take 
the two first symbols of intonation from the prece- 
ding example, and set over the remaining notation, 
the following phrase, as an earnest question : 

Pitt a statue with his ancestors? 



236 OF THE INTONATION 

the reading will have the just interrogative expres- 
sion. 

Perhaps the reader is now prepared to under- 
stand me when 1 say generally, That the current 
melody of interrogation, in those sentences which 
require the Thorough expression, is made by the 
use of the slow concrete interval of the third or 
fifth or octave, on the long and emphatic syllables : 
and by a change of the radical pitch, together with 
the rapid concrete of the same interval, on those 
which are short and unemphatic or unaccented : 
that in those sentences which are restricted to the 
Partial expression, the intonation is made by a simi- 
lar use of the above named constituents of inter- 
rogation, in connexion with the phrases of the 
common diatonic melody : and that in both these 
cases of the Thorough and the Partial extent of 
expression, the interrogation may be constituted 
solely by the Third, or the Fifth, or the Octave ; 
or more than one of these intervals may be used in 
the same sentence, accordingly as the emphatic 
force and the sentiment of the several words re- 
quire, on the one hand, the same expression, and, 
on the other, an appropriation of the peculiar pow- 
ers of the different intervals to the varying demands 
of those words. 

Let us now learn the mode of constructing the 
cadence of interrogative sentences : or, as some of 
these sentences have not that peculiar characteris- 
tic of close or discontinuation which belongs to the 
cadence strictly so called, let us learn the manner 
of intonation on their three final syllables, 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 237 

If the sentence bears the Thorough expression, 
the close is made in one of the following ways. 

When the three last syllables are unemphatic, or 
immutable, or are the unaccented syllables of an 
emphatic word, the interrogative effect is produced 
by a radical change and rapid concrete of these 
three final syllables : these syllables, in their ex- 
alted pitch being carried on in the phrase of the 
monotone or rising ditone. For since the interro- 
gative expression should always create that per- 
ception of continuation which is contradistinguished 
in character from the close of the Triad, the above 
named phrases do add their peculiar power, in this 
respect, to that of the rapid concrete, to give the 
required continuation of voice at the end of the 
sentence. This species of close is exemplified in 
the ensuing notation : 



He said 

~7 r 


you 


were 

—i 


in — 


com- 


— pa — ra — ble ? 

-t-r-r 


4 4 r * ~ 4 * 4 * 


A / 


4 A 



The same case of Thorough expression being 
supposed: if the antepenultimate syllable be empha- 
tic, and of indefinite quantity, it will assume the 
slow concrete, and the two last will take on the ra- 
dical change and the rapid concrete ; as is shown by 
the notation of the word " ancestors" in a preceding 
example. 

If, in a like case, the penult be a long quantity 
and emphatic, it will rise by the slow concrete *, and 
the last will have the rapid movement with the ra- 



238 0F THE INTONATION 

dical change. This mode of intonation may be well 
understood without a notation of it ; and I here take 
occasion to remark that it will be unnecessary to 
annex an illustration by the staff, to all the succeed- 
ing descriptions within the present subject. 

If the last syllable of a sentence which bears 
the thorough expression, be emphatic and capable 
of the slow concrete, it will end with that continu- 
ous interval. Under this condition the three last 
syllables may go through the downward tritone, as 
in the following scheme: 

Give Fab ius a tri umph for his de — lay? 



\^±M ±m 



In such instances the final rise of the octave, fifth 
or third, as the case may be, will create the precep- 
tion of continuation, and thus counteract the tenden- 
cy of the radical descent, through three successive 
downward tones, to produce a close: for it is a con- 
dition of the perfect cadence, that the vanish of its 
last concrete should be in a feeble downward into- 
nation. 

When the expression is Partial, and when the last 
clause of the sentence does not bear it, it is obvious 
that the melody of that clause must be of the com- 
mon diactonic species, and should therefore termi- 
nate with the appropriate triad. But sentences with 
the partial expression sometimes have one of the 
three final syllables emphatic: in which case the 
emphatic syllable may call for the interrogative 



OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 239 

expression. Under this condition the following will 
be the forms of the cadence. 

If the antepenultimate syllable be emphatic, and 
indefinite, it will bear the slow concrete interval; 
and the two last will successively descend from the 
radical of that concrete, and form with it, a proper 
diatonic triad. 

If the penult be emphatic and bear the slow con- 
crete, the last syllable will have its radical pitch a 
tone below that of the preceding, and by its down- 
ward feeble vanish will produce the close of the 
triad, the emphatic syllable which bears the inter- 
rogative intonation, being in its radical pitch, a tone 
below the antepenultimate. This mode, however, 
is not common: for if the expression by the concrete 
interval comes so near the close, it is generally 
continued, by the last syllable taking the radical 
change. 

When the last syllable is emphatic and of indefi- 
nite time, the cadence is made in the same manner 
with that of the last instance, in the preceding case 
of thorough expression. 

The history here given of interrogative intona- 
tion embraces the leading points of its use in speech. 
I leave the discovery of more particular phenome- 
na, and the exhibition of the reason and rule of 
their variety, for the observation of others. What 
is here done may seem to be too much. For the 
present age, I believe it is. But this is a concession 
altogether irrelative to the progress of knowledge, 
and to the pleasure derived from its development. 
A novel history of nature, in the dignified confi- 



240 OF THE INTONATION, &c. 

deuce of even its humble contributions, no more 
asks the favour of those who read, than nature her- 
self asks the gratitude of those who enjoy her boun- 
ties. She gives what she gives, for her own purpo- 
ses, without distracting her self-energized dispensa- 
tions, by the subordinate and humanly contrived 
spring of expected approbation. The true and hon- 
est history of nature should be in all things but 
the image of her; and perhaps he would both do 
and enjoy more, in the work of discovering and 
describing her, who could catch a portion of the un- 
obsequeous spirit with which she bestows, and who 
could put on some of her indifference, to the thought- 
less praise or blame of those who receive. 



SECTION XVII. 

Of the Interval of the Second, 

1 return from the foregoing account of the use of 
the higher intervals of pitch, in the construction 
of interrogative melody, to the enumeration and 
description of other intervals of more limited ex- 
tent • but of no less essential efficacy in the scale 
of intonation. 

The rising interval of the second, or the proper 
radical and vanishing tone, has in previous parts of 
this essay been largely spoken of, both as regards 
its nature and position in speech. I here reconsider 
the subject of this interval, with a view to complete 
the enumeration of all the concrete spaces of the 
speaking scale: and to join one or two additional 
remarks to the recapitulation of its qualities and 
uses. It is the basis of what I have called the di- 
atonic melody; and in correct and agreeable elocu- 
tion, is more frequently used than any other inter- 
val: since it is appropriate to all those parts of dis- 
course which convey the plain thoughts of the speak- 
er; if these may be contradistinguished from those 
emphatic meanings and sentiments, which I design- 
ed to embrace under the head of Expression. Al- 
though I thus exclude the Tone, when used in its 
simplest state, from among the especial agents of 



242 0F THE INTERVAL 

expression, I shall show hereafter, that it may re- 
ceive a stress, on different parts of its concrete 
course, which gives a marked coloring to its into- 
nation : and it has already been told, in the section 
on time, that the extension of the voice on sylla- 
bles of long quantity, produces a deliberate enun- 
ciation, a dignity and a smoothness which give the 
highest qualities of the diatonic melody, without a 
departure from its characteristic simplicity. 

In an early part of this essay, I asserted that the 
radical and vanish are necessary functions of utter- 
ance \ or in other words, that no impulse of the 
voice can be given, without going through the con- 
crete. I have since shown the means for ascertain- 
ing the passage of this concrete through the higher 
intervals of the scale, both in the protracted and 
the rapid time of syllables. When I assert that im- 
mutable syllables, in a diatonic melody, do pass in- 
stantaneously through the concrete second or tone, I 
am bound to confess that I cannot measure the steps 
of the transition. Yet I am led to the opinion by 
the following reasons. — 

Every case of concrete utterance of a tone, in 
which the increments of time and motion are per- 
ceptible, has manifestly the radical and vanishing 
progression. Now if the time of this manifest con- 
crete is gradually shortened, in repeated pronuncia- 
tion, till the syllabic impulse becomes, as it were, 
a mere point of sound, the effect of this instant 
impulse on the ear does not differ materially from 
that of the last degree in which the increments 
of the concrete progress are discernible. 



OF THE SECOND. £43 

But further, I have shown that the interrogative 
intervals of the third, the fifth, and the octave, 
might be passed through on an immutable syllable. 
This was proved by the peculiar effect of the in- 
terrogative voice being distinctly cognizable on this 
sort of syllable: and I shall show, in the next sec- 
tion, that the smaller interval of the semitone, the 
peculiar expression of which may be recognised, 
whatever is the time of utterance, does likewise 
pass through the concrete, on the shortest syllables. 
Now we can scarcely refuse to the Tone, the attri- 
bution of that concrete movement on momentary 
syllables, which belongs to all the other intervals 
of the scale, when uttered in the same momentary 
impulse. This however, is certain: — there is one 
mode of enunciation of immutable syllables clearly 
distinguishable from their utterance through the 
concrete space of the semitone, the third and other 
higher intervals. This maybe a mere point of voice; 
but for the above reasons, I do believe it to be a 
rapid concrete passage through the second or tone. 

Perhaps the reader may desire to know particu- 
larly, to what portions of discourse the Tone or 
second is applied, and with what continuity the di- 
atonic melody, which consists in a play on this 
Tone, is used. In describing and illustrating this 
melody. I represented it as extended through suc- 
cessive sentences. The diatonic movement is how- 
ever, rarely found of long continuation: the cur- 
rent of the Tone being intersected by the interpo- 
sition of concretes with a different range of pitch. 
I have already said that the higher intervals of the 



244 0F THE INTERVAL 

v » 

scale are used for interrogative expression ; that 
they are likewise applied to single words, as one 
of the modes of emphasis ; and I shall show that 
other elements of pitch are occasionally introduc- 
ed for this same purpose of emphatic expression. 
Now as these occasions for using the other inter- 
vals occur in most discourse, it will be found that 
the diatonic melody generally exists in detached 
portions j the continuity of the melody in the tone 
or second being broken by those other intervals : 
and this interruption will be more or less frequent, 
according to the degree of expression contempla- 
ted in the discourse. A Gazette advertisement, a 
legal instrument, and the purely communicative 
style of plain narrative and of description may ge- 
nerally be read in the thorough diatonic melody. 
But there are few compositions which are address- 
ed to taste, that have not their melody varied by 
the more or less frequent occurrence of the color- 
ing of other intervals than the second. According 
to the line I have endeavoured to draw between 
thoughts and sentiments or feelings, and consistent- 
ly with their appropriate intonation, it might be 
supposed that the demonstrations of Euclid should 
be read in one continuous stream of diatonic melo- 
dy ; but even these are perpetually varied by the 
higher intervals, introduced upon conditional and 
hypothetical phrases. — The fragments of diatonic 
melody, occurring in prose declamation, in poetry, 
and in the drama, are generally small: and conver- 
sation, when not didactic, nor designedly solemn, 
nor unavoidably dull, almost banishes the melody 



OP THE SECOND. 245 

of the tone, in the vivid coloring of its highly in- 
flected intonation. 

Since I have assigned restrictively, the interval 
of the second, in the form of the diatonic melody, 
to a certain complexion of discourse ; and since 
it is desirable that this melody should be executed 
with the greatest propriety and elegance, it may 
not be amiss to point out the mode of managing 
the second, for the attainment of these qualities. 

The diatonic melody being deprived of the re- 
sources of the higher intervals, and other modes of 
intonation, by which more sentimental discourse is 
expressively adorned, is limited to the means of 
excellence, arising out of the skilful ordering of 
time and stress. — The different forms of stress 
which may be applied to a concrete rise of the 
second, will be described in a future section. The 
other principal means for adding dignity and grace 
to the delivery of a passage of diatonic melody, 
and for effecting a well measured rhythmus, is by 
the adjusted variety of length, in the quantity of 
syllables. It is not, however, by the prolongation 
alone, that the clear and agreeable enunciation of 
syllables is effected, in an inexpressive diatonic 
melody. It is necessary that this length should be 
made with the equable movement which peculiar- 
ly constitutes the intonation of speech : and further, 
that the voice, in this equable rise of the tone, 
should have that full opening and subsequent gradu- 
al diminution, which suggested its subdivided dis- 
tinction by terms, into radical and vanishing move- 
ment. He who has not cultivated his voice in 



246 INTERVAL OF THE SECOND. 

these particulars, will find it difficult to give the 
extreme protraction of an indefinite syllable, with 
its co-existent qualities of equability and vanish. 
He will, on trial, be very apt to carry out a long 
quantity, after the manner of the intonation of song 
or recitative. Being now acquainted with the three 
directions of the radical and vanishing movement, 
the light and guidance of a special purpose in study 
and practice, instead of the faultering blindness 
of imitation, may lead us to an unerring command 
over the equable concrete of speech. 

The power of making long quantities on indefi- 
nite syllables, with the precision of boundary and 
the smoothness and nicety of vanish belonging to 
the best execution of this equable movement, is 
one of the most attractive and the, rarest accom- 
plishments of a speaker. The skilful performance 
of this concrete function, in the impressive fulness 
and dignity of the Orotund voice, gives the ac- 
knowledged satisfaction to a discerning ear, when a 
finished actor first breaks his silence in the dia- 
logue 5 even though it be by a solitary syllable. 
With this temper of voice, his opening efforts 
cleave their way at once to approbation ; and need 
no working on a dull material through the tedious 
whetting of a whole act, to bring it to an edge. 



SECTION XVIII. 

Of the Interval of the Semitone; and of the Chro- 
matic Melody founded thereon. 

The smallest but not the least important division 
of the scale, through which the radical and vanish- 
ing movement may be heard, is the interval of the 
semitone. In the second section of this essay, I 
described the means by which the reader can ac- 
quire a distinct perception of this concrete interval. 
It was there said, that, if in ascending the scale, the 
effect of the transition from the seventh to the 
eighth place be compared with the syllabic utter- 
ance of a plaintive sentiment, their identity would 
be acknowledged. Now the interval from the 
seventh to the eighth, in the diatonic scale, is a 
semitone. This interval is used in speech for the 
expression of complaint, pity, grief, plaintive sup- 
plication, and other sentiments congenial with 
these. 

The power of the semitone, together with its 
definite place and range of interval, may be made 
manifest, by dividing the word u fire" into two syl- 
lables, and by ascending the scale with the alter- 
nate use of these syllables — Thus: 




Fi yer Fi yer 



248 0F THE CHROMATIC MELODY 

Now the two places of the semitones, which are 
here each marked by a brace, will give the word 
" fire'' as it is uttered through the streets, in the out- 
cry of alarm. The intonation by the concrete semi- 
tone, is universally, the symbol of nature for animal 
distress : and in the above mode of exemplification 
on the scale, its effect is very different from that of 
the concrete passage of the word through the space 
of a whole tone, between the first and second points 
of the scale. Among a multitude of voices, where the 
alarm is given by public cry, this utterance through 
the second is occasionally heard : and I am sure some 
of my readers may be able to call to mind the ef- 
fect of its dissonant difference from the intonation 
of the great majority. I cannot exemplify it by 
the pen : but when the attractive nature of a par- 
ticular cry does not consist in quality or in shrill- 
ness, it generally arises from this misapplied form 
of pitch. The genera of mankind always show forth 
their indices; and though there may sometimes 
be error in judging of the full aggregate of quali- 
ties thereby, there is often truth, and always, cau- 
tion, and economy of opinion in the use of the rule. 
Be this as it may, I never hear the cry of " fire 1 ' 
made through the interval of a whole tone, with- 
out a persuasion of the general impotence or defor- 
mity of that voice or that ear, which can, in this 
particular, so far transgress the ordination of nature. 

The semitone is employed for the expression of 
gentleness of feeling : and never for that of great 
energy, harshness or impetuosity of thought. It af- 
fects generally the slow time and long quantity in 



OF SPEECH. 049 

utterance. The interjective exclamations of pain, 
grief, love and compassion are prolongations of the 
tonic elements on this interval. But it can be exe- 
cuted, and the effect of it is distinctly perceptible, 
as I hinted in the last section, on the short time 
of immutable syllables. For it will be found on 
experiment, that the syllable " cat," or any similar 
immutable, can be uttered in a plaintive or com- 
plaining tone, even in its shortest time. Since then 
thisplaintiveness, when made with long quantities, 
on which the transition may be distinctly mea- 
sured, is always produced by the concrete semi- 
tone, and not by a movement through any other 
known interval of the scale ; it may be fairly con- 
cluded, when tli is plaintiveness is heard on an 
immutable syllable, that the semitone is rapidly 
performed, even though the succession in the mo- 
ments of its time is imperceptible. 

In the next section, I intend to speak of the na- 
ture and uses and various intervals of the downward 
vanishing movement. But it is necessary to con- 
sider here transiently the downward vanish of the 
semitone ; since its function is involved in the sub- 
ject of the chromatic melody of speech which I am 
about to describe. 

The downward radical and vanishing semitone 
may be exemplified, by beginning at the top of the 
scale, with the word " fire," divided as above into 
two syllables, with the addition of the subtonic 
" y," and descending by the alternate use of these 
syllables. The sound in the concrete passage from 
the eighth to the seventh, will have a plaintive 
Kk 



250 OF THE CHROMATIC MELODY 

character, though somewhat different from that of 
its upward progress through the same interval. 
Whereas the concrete passage downward through a 
whole tone, between the second and first, will not 
produce that plaintive effect. From this account 
it may be understood, that if the voice should rise 
concretely through a semitone, and afterwards in 
continuation should descend through it, the effect as 
far as regards expression, would be an iteration of 
movement, and a prolonged influence of the plain- 
tive character. Now as the sentiment which dic- 
tates the semitone generally affects a slow time and 
an extension of syllabic quantity, the expression of 
this interval is generally made by the continuity 
of its upward and downward concrete movement. 
This structure answers two important purposes. Tt 
creates a stronger impression of the sentiment : and 
by doubling the interval, it allows a prolongation of 
quantity, without endangering the integrity of the 
equable concrete, by the liability of a long quantity, 
to pass into the intonation of song or recitative. 
The expressive character of this doubled semitone 
may be exemplified by making an immediate 
return in the downward direction, after having 
ascended to the top of the scale. For the high- 
est interval of the scale being a semitone, if the 
concrete ascent be continued with an unbroken 
current, into a return upon that interval, as the 
commencement of the descending scale ; and if we 
pause after this first downward step, we shall per- 
ceive an effect of intonation exactly resembling 



OF SPEECH. 25| 

that which belongs to the plaintive utterance of a 
protracted syllable of speech. 

The sentiments which are naturally expressed 
by the semitone are sometimes restricted to indivi- 
dual words ; sometimes they extend over phrases 
and sentences, and even throughout entire sections 
of' discourse. These last occasions requiring the 
semitone on every syllable, necessarily produce a 
melody consisting of a continued succession of that 
interval. In the sixth section the diatonic melody 
was represented as formed by the progression of 
pitch through the interval of a whole tone. That 
which is here spoken of being through a semitone, 
may be called the Semitonic or Chromatic melody. 
Like the former it is subdivided into the current 
melody, and that of the cadence. The movement 
of its current resolves into six sorts of phrases, 
similar to those in the diatonic progress. But as 
the change by radical pitch in the chromatic cur- 
rent, is through the interval of a tone, only when it 
descends, and not when it ascends, as will be shown 
presently, the misnaming may be scanned, but it 
must be pardoned, when I call the several semito- 
nic phrases by the terms assigned to the elements 
of the diatonic melody. 

The doctrine of key and of modulation is the same 
in the two melodies. A similar appropriation of 
phrases to the pauses of discourse, for continuing or 
suspending or closing the sense, is used in each ; 
and the same rule for varying the phrases of the 
current melody, in the production of an agreeable 



252 



OF THE CHROMATIC MELOD1* 



effect, is applicable to both. But as the sentiments 
which dictate the use of the semitone and its melo- 
dy are always more grave or depressed than those 
associated with the diatonic, the former more fre- 
quently affects the phrase of the monotone. 

In speaking of the diatonic melody I divided its 
constructive parts into the concrete pitch and the ra- 
dical pitch. The same distinctions may be made in 
the progression of the chromatic melody. Its concrete 
is always essentially formed upon the interval of 
a semitone. Its radical pitch, if I have not been 
deceived, is conducted in the following manner. 
When the current melody descends, the step of the 
radical change is made downward, over the space 
of a whole tone. But when the melody ascends, the 
discrete transition is over the space of a semitone. 
The truth of the former case will be acknowledged 
on executing the downward ditone of a chromatic 
melody, and comparing its effect with that of the 
two first constituents of the triad of the diatonic ca- 
dence : for it will be found that if the downward 
radical pitch of a chromatic melody be followed by 
another downward radical similar to the first ; or in 
other words, if we attempt to make a downward 
tritone in a plaintive intonation, the triad of the 
cadence will be thereby so nearly accomplished, 
that it will solicit for its consummation, only the 
faint downward vanish of that triad on its last con- 
stituent. Now the triad of the cadence, in its tri- 
partite form, is constructed of the successive descent 
of whole tones. 



OP speech. 253 

The following considerations lead to the conclu- 
sion that the radical change in the upward direction, 
is in some cases made by the step of the semitone. 
By reference to the mode of ascent in the vocal 
scale, it will be found, that in executing the semi- 
tones, the notes next above them begin at the top 
of the concrete of the previous semitone; and as 
every concrete of a chromatic melody is a semi- 
tone, it follows, by the rule of the scale, that each 
successive syllable of a chromatic progression, 
when the radical pitch rises, must be at the distance 
of a semitone above the preceding. 

But it has been shown that the concrete pitch 
of this melody is, in slow utterance, generally con- 
tinued into the returning downward vanish of the 
semitone. On this occasion the above reasons for 
the semitonic radical change do not apply. Whether 
in this case of the returning downward concrete, 
the radical change upward is by the semitone or 
the tone, I am not prepared to decide, with that 
confidence which I have felt on all the points of 
observation within the preceding pages of this 
work. On the whole, however, there is not much 
change of radical pitch in this melody ; since the 
monotone is its prevalent phrase. 

It was taught in a previous section, that in the 
diatonic melody special purposes of expression 
call occasionally for the introduction of the interval 
of the octave, the fifth and the third. It will be ask- 
ed, perhaps, if these intervals are ever found in 
the course of a chromatic melody : and if so, how 
they are engrafted on it They have a place in it ? 



254 0F THE CHROMATIC MELODY 

both for the purpose of interrogation and of empha- 
sis ; and are applied in the following manner. 

As it is the end of this melody to give the plain- 
tive effect of the semitone, if an emphatic or inter- 
rogative word should require any one of the above- 
mentioned intervals, the expression of the semitone 
and of that higher interval should be conjoined. 
But by the mode of using the interrogative inter- 
vals in the diatonic melody, that is by their direct 
ascent, they would overslide the semitone and its 
plaintive expression would be thereby lost. These 
two effects therefore, are conjoined, for the purpose 
of chromatic interrogation and emphasis, by carry- 
ing the voice through the upward and downward 
semitone on the appointed syllable \ and by leading 
it afterwards in continuation from the extremity of 
the downward vanish, through the upward concrete 
of the octave or the fifth or the third, as the intend- 
ed expression of the interrogation or emphasis 
may require. If the peculiar keenness and force of 
expression which was ascribed to the octave is re- 
collected, it must at once be supposed that it is rare- 
ly found among the signs of semitonic interrogation: 
the more abated power of the third or fifth being 
commonly used for this purpose. Perhaps the read- 
er may not be dissatisfied if I here think it unneces- 
sary to set forth this subject of the chromatic melo- 
dy, by a scheme of notation. The precision I have 
endeavoured to give to the terms of the descrip- 
tion, will I hope enable him to understand it with- 
out delineation ; or to mark the tablature for him- 
self. 



OF SPEECH. 255 

The cadence of a chromatic melody, or the close 
of a pathetic or plaintive current of utterance is 
made by a peculiar construction of the triad. 

The reader will find on trial, that there is no 
other mode of reaching the satisfactory pause of 
discourse, on three distinct syllables, than that 
which was described in the history of the diatonic 
cadence ; and which consists in the radical descent 
of whole tones, as noted in the first and second 
sorts of cadence, in the sixth section. — Consequent- 
ly the chromatic triad must be made by a similar 
radical descent, since a downward triad of three 
semitones, would make no more than a tone and a 
half. But the concrete pitch, or vanish of these 
radicals, which thus descend by a tone, is made 
through the space of a semitone ; and the plaintive 
character of the melody is thus communicated to 
its close. 

It deserves to be remarked here, that a passage 
which requires the intonation of the chromatic mel- 
ody, may sometimes be terminated by the plain di- 
atonic triad ; whether that close be made by its tri- 
partite separation, or by conjoined constituents, as 
was illustrated in the history of that cadence. In- 
deed it may be further observed, that insignificant 
and slightly marked particles in a chromatic sen- 
tence, may bear a radical and vanishing whole tone, 
without deducting much from the expressive effect 
of the proper semitone, in the important words 
and long quantities of the sentence. Of these plain 
forms of the diatonic cadence, which may be occa- 
sionally applied to a chromatic melody, I have al- 



25® OF THE CHROMATIC MELODY 

ready spoken in the sixth section. I here take no- 
tice of those forms of the close which carry the 
plaintive expression. 

The chromatic close may be made on a single 
long syllable : or it may be allotted to two sylla- 
bles : or the space of its descent may be divided 
between three. 

If the three constituents are joined severally to 
three syllables, the cadence is made by taking the 
radicals at the interval of a whole tone in descent 
from each other; and by giving to each of the con- 
stituents, except the last, the rising vanish of the 
semitone; the last having the feeble downward 
vanish, such as belongs to the diatonic cadences. 
This is exemplified in the following notation : in 
which the lines and spaces still designate the differ- 
ence of a whole tone, except in the measuring of 
the concrete issue of the points, and of the upivard 
change of radical pitch ; both of which must be 
taken as indicative of the space of a semitone. 



Pit— ty the 


sor — 


—rows 


of a poor 


old 


man. 


sir* 


-4- 


4 


4 4 4 


4 






W 


^ 



It is true that the concrete semitonic rise, in con- 
tinuation with a subsequent fall below the radical, 
may be given to the last constituent, and that a 
plaintive expression may thereby be communica- 
ted to it : but in this case the perception of the close 
will not be so complete as when made in the man- 
ner of the above notation. 

The tripartite chromatic cadence may also be 



OF SPEECH. 257 

made by assuming the above construction, and by 
joining the constituents through a downward van- 
ish: the plaintive character still flowing from the 
semitonic rise of its two first constituents, thus: 

A poor old man. 

2 




When the plaintive close is spread over two syl- 
lables, the first constituent rises through a concrete 
semitone, and the voice is continued from this van- 
ish, into the last syllable, which ends in a feeble 
downward movement, in this manner : 



A 


poor 




man. 


f 4 * ^\ 








s ^ 



The chromatic cadence may be made on a sin- 
gle long syllable : but its effect is bad, and it is per- 
haps never used in correct speech, except for some 
special design of expression, which has no neces- 
sary connexion with the mere cadence. The inad- 
missible nature of this cadence arises from the use 
of the upward semitone, which must be heard on 
the first part of that syllable, for the purpose of 
giving a plaintive construction to the close. Now 
the continuation of this rising semitone into the 
downward third produces an element of expression, 
if I may so call the combination, which may indeed 
carry the power of a close : but it does at the same 
time, join with it an intonation of affected mockery, 
altogether foreign to the desirable and appropriate 
character of the simple cadence. 
l1 



258 0F THE CHROMATIC MELODY 

There is still another form of the Chromatic close, 
resembling the skipping cadence of the diatonic 
melody. It consists of a concrete semitone on the 
antepenult syllable, and an immediate discrete 
descent by radical pitch to the final constituent of 
the triad ; omitting the second altogether. It is un- 
necessary to give a diagram of this form, since it 
is shown by the last example of notation, when de- 
prived of the concrete junction of the two consti- 
tuents. It is rarely used as a close ; and only when 
some peculiar emphasis, as, of surprise, may hap- 
pen to lie on the last word of the sentence. 

As in the diatonic cadence, so in the chromatic, 
there are different degrees of fulness or complete- 
ness of the close : and these depend on the con- 
struction. That entire consummation which is de- 
manded at the utter period of discourse, is effected 
by the tripartite form of the first of the above no- 
tations. The second which is still tripartite, but 
which has its constituents conjoined by the down- 
ward vanish, has perhaps a character of somewhat 
less repose than the first -.since the radicals in this 
case, are less distinctly marked by the explosive 
fulness which belongs to them when they are not 
conjoined ; and it is this conspicuous display of the 
descent of the radical pitch which gives the full 
exhaustion to the close. The third construction 
represented above, is the most feeble form of the 
chromatic cadence ; for being made upon two syl- 
lables, it has less of the character which is derived 
from the change of downward radical pitch. This 



OF SPEECH. 259 

mode of cadence then falls short of the expression 
necessary for a close, at the cessation of discourse. 
In closing this history of the five enumerated 
intervals of pitch, and of their uses in the purpo- 
ses of elocution, I have only to add, that, as far as 
my observation goes, I believe the intervals of the 
Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh are used in speech for 
peculiarities of expression similar to those of the 
intervals which adjoin them, and which have been 
described above. The third, fifth and octave which 
are adjacent to those omitted intervals, are the 
most easily seized by the ear, not only in the mea- 
surement of the discrete steps of an instrumental 
scale, but also in the recognition of the boundary 
of the continuous slide, in the human voice. It is 
on this account I have limited the enumeration in 
the preceding sections, to certain five intervals of 
the natural scale. I have not satisfactorily ascer 
tained the properties of the remaining three, if in- 
deed they possess any that are peculiar : and I have 
not thought the investigation worth further trouble 



SECTION XIX. 

Of the Downward Radical and Vanishing Move* 
ment. 

The functions of pitch hitherto described are 
performed principally by a rising progress of the 
concrete, or of the radical change. 

In an early page of this essay it was shown that 
the voice moves in a reverse direction \ that the ra- 
dical, opening with its characteristic fulness on a 
given place in the scale, descends through its des- 
tined interval, with that equable concrete structure 
and diminishing force which characterizes the up- 
ward vanish. We must now consider the varieties 
of form in the downward concrete, the occasions of 
its use, and the qualities of its expression. 

The downward progress of the voice is made 
through all the intervals named in speaking of its 
rise : and in like manner with the rise, the descend- 
ing transition is made both by a concrete move- 
ment, and by a discrete change or leap of the radi- 
cal pitch. The effect of the descent, whether done 
concretely or by discrete skip, may be manifested, 
and the characteristic expressions of the different 
intervals may be rendered precisely cognizable, by 
means of the following experiments. 

Let the reader express himself familiarly on the 
exclamatory phrase, " well done," in the way of 



OF THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT. 



261 



high astonishment : taking care that the first word is 
assumed at a high pitch ; that the last has an unusual 
prolongation of quantity ; and that the words are 
uttered as if they formed the close of a sentence. 
If the intonation of the word "done" be according to 
the design here given, it will exemplify the down- 
ward concrete of the octave. Again let him give 
the oscitant interjection, " heigh ho," with that de- 
gree of emphasis which may throw these two words 
on the extremes of the compass of the natural 
voice. He will thereupon find that the transition 
from the elevated pitch on " heigh" to the inferior 
place of " ho," will be by a discrete or skipping de- 
scent. Now this transition, where the intonation 
is pointedly marked as above proposed, is commonly 
made by the downward radical pitch of the Octave. 

The downward Fifth', both in its concrete pitch 
and in its discrete radical change, may be made audi- 
ble by employing a somewhat less vivid coloring 
of intonation than the last, on these same words. 

The concrete descent of the Third may be heard 
by pronouncing the word " No," as if it were the 
last word of a sentence ; observing to give it some 
length, and to exclude from the utterance every 
expression except the simple indication of the ca- 
dence. The downward radical pitch or skip of the 
third, may be exemplified by pronouncing the 
phrase " made an attack," as if it were a full close, 
giving the syllables " made an at," in the monotone, 
and making the satisfactory close on " tack." For, 
in this case the syllable " at" is the first constituent 
of the triad : and being by its short quantity inca- 



%Q2 0P THE DOWNWARD RADICAL 

pable of a concrete descent to fill up the close, the 
voice of necessity leaps over the place of the second 
constituent and terminates the cadence on " tack" 
in the proper point of the third. 

The effect of the downward concrete second or 
tone may be made familiar, by attending to the last 
constituent of a diatonic cadence, in its tripartite 
form. The radical change of the second may be 
heard in the descent of the constituents of the same 
cadence ; since its radicals succeed each other by 
the difference of a tone. 

The downward concrete of the semitone was 
described in the last section, as being plaintively 
obvious in the vocal transition from the eighth to the 
seventh place of the scale. If it is true, as I have 
ventured to assert of the chromatic current melody, 
that its change of radical pitch in a downward course 
is like that of its cadence, a whole tone, it follows 
that we have no instances in speech, of the discrete 
downward pitch of the semitone. 

If the reader is by this time expert in ascend- 
ing both concretely and discretely, through each 
of the intervals of the scale, he may after rising, 
immediately return through the same interval, 
whilst the impressions of its extremes are fresh on 
his ear; and thus in another manner become 
familiar with the different extent of the down- 
ward movement, both in its concrete and discrete 
progress. 

I have been speaking of the downward move- 
ment when made on long quantities : but like the 
rising direction, it may be shown on immutable 



AND VANISHING MOVEMENT. OfJS 

syllables: the transit through the given interval 
being rapidly performed. Yet it must be remarked 
that when the characteristic expression of an inter- 
val is required on immutable syllables, the transition 
is generally made by the change of radical pitch. 

The expressive powers of the downward radi- 
cal and vanish, will be assigned in a subsequent con- 
sideration of the particular intervals of the scale. 
As a general remark on its character, it may be 
said in contradistinction to the effect of the Third, 
Fifth, and Octave, which have an interrogative 
meaning, that the downward progress of the same 
divisions of the scale represents a degree of posi- 
tiveness of affirmation quite the reverse of the 
doubt contained in a question. Still this positive- 
ness is not its sole expression, since it may be united 
with other sentiments which are represented, as 
will be shown presently, by certain modifications 
of the course of the concrete Thus in the phrase 
" well done," used above for illustration, there 
seems to be conveyed the highest degree of confi- 
dence, in the award of approbation. Some other 
inquirer may hereafter give the true cause of the 
determinate effect of this element. I cannot how- 
ever avoid offering here the suggestion, for I wish 
to be cautious in touching analogical argument, 
that the positiveness of character which belongs to it 
may arise from its conjoining with its emphatic im 
port a certain degree of the final impression of the 
cadence: for this seems to foreclose the expectation 
of further doubt or reply, by the satisfactory repose 
of the ultimate intonation on a finished sense. In 



264 0F THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT. 

corroboration of this suggestion let us bring to mind 
that the replications of doubtful argument in dia- 
logue, and the diffidence of mutual civility between 
the speakers, are not marked so freely with com- 
plete cadences, as the termination of the sense of 
the respective phrases would otherwise bear. But 
we know that when the assertions become authori- 
tative from truth, or dogmatic from opinion, the 
closing intonation of the cadence is employed as 
the definite seal of self-confident affirmation. 

The downward vanish is used for the purpose of 
emphasis, as will be particularly marked in a future 
section. It has nearly an equal power of attraction 
over the ear, with the upward vanish. The expres- 
sions of wonder, admiration, surprize and exclama- 
tion, when not conjoined with an interrogative 
meaning, are generally made by a form of this ele- 
ment ; the extent of the interval being proportional 
to the degree of energy in the sentiment. As the 
downward concrete is formed in the same manner 
with the rising, having, metaphorically speaking, 
but a different direction, we may ascribe the same 
qualities of construction to both. The same explo- 
sive fulness should mark the radical ; there should 
be the same equable movement in its descent j the 
same delicate and smooth diminution and final va- 
nish into silence. 

After these general remarks on the subject, we 
proceed to the history of the particular intervals of 
the downward movement. 



SECTION XX. 



Of tlie Interval of the Downward Octave. 



This interval, in addition to the expression, as- 
cribed generally to the downward movement, con- 
veys in the colloquial uses of the voice, the vivacity 
of facetious surprise, as in the instance of the phrase 
"well done," given above. It is in this case the 
very picture of amazement, and if I may so speak, 
raises the brow and opens the eye of the voice. 
In its more dignified uses, there is the highest de- 
gree of admiration or astonishment, either alone, 
or united with other sentiments. Thus the aston- 
ishment and positiveness marked by this interval 
may be coexistent with the complacent feeling of 
mirth and sociability, or with the repugnant sen- 
timent of fear or contempt or hatred, or in short, 
with almost any state of mind which is not contra- 
dictory to that astonishment and positiveness. For 
though these superadded sentiments have other 
symbols in expression, yet when they go with this 
high degree of astonishment, the downward octave 
is the true and only sign of the combination. 

But as the same interval can thus represent differ- 
ent sentiments, it may be inquired, whether some 
modification of its structure may not be necessary ; 
m m 



266 0F THE D0WNWARD OCTAVE. 

and if so, how it is modified. It is modified in this 
manner. I shall show particularly in a future sec- 
tion, that the concrete movement, whether the di- 
rection be upward or downward, can bear with dis- 
tinguishable audibility, a force of voice on the be- 
ginning or on the middle or on the end of its progress 
through a prolonged quantity. The names and fur- 
ther uses of these three kinds of stress will be given 
hereafter. Now in the appropriation of these forms 
of the downward octave to the different sentiments 
which were said to be within its expression, I assign 
the simple or natural form of the radical and vanish 
to the feeling of extravagant mirthful wonder. When 
the force is laid on the middle of its course, by a 
swell at that place, the expression becomes more 
repulsive with its wonder. And when the force is 
applied to the lower extremity, reversing thus the 
natural structure of the radical and vanish, it in- 
creases the degree of the repulsion, and mingles 
with it some slight affection of anger or of scorn. 
The characteristic thus assigned to the octave, 
might at once assure us that it is of rare occurrence. 
It may be found occasionally in the intensity of col- 
loquial excitement, and in the fervor of the drama : 
but never perhaps in the course of narrative or 
description, since the strained energy of its expres- 
sion must be the real or the personated pouring out 
of the heart. 



SECTION XXI. 

Of the Interval of the downward Fifth. 

The expression of the last described interval 
is marked by a quaint sentiment of familiarity, or 
by an excessive degree of violence. The Fifth 
has in many respects a similar meaning ; but it 
clothes its sentiments of smiling surprise and of ad- 
miration, whether it be passive or repelling, with 
more dignity than is borne by the octave. This 
interval is often used on imperative phrases. Its 
concrete, like that of the octave, may be modified 
in meaning by the different applications of stress. 
The following derisive exclamation of Gabriel to 
Satan, in the fourth book of Paradise Lost, is pro- 
perly made by the natural form of the fifth ; that 
is, by the stress on the radical or opening portion 
of the interval, whilst the vanish dwindles away 
in its descent. 

Courageous chief! 
The first in flight from pain ! 

The syllable ra, here signalized by italics, is 
made by the natural or unaltered radical and va- 
nish of the falling fifth. 

When the Queen says to Hamlet 

If it be, [that is, if death be the common lot] 
Why seems it so particular with thee? 



26S OF THE INTERVAL 

Hamlet returns 

Seems, Madam, nay it is.' I know not seems. 

Now the is, here marked in italics, when uttered 
with the downward concrete of the fifth, represents 
most perfectly the positive affirmation and surprise 
of the speaker, at the misconception of his real 
state. But the solemn feeling of the prince, which 
rejects, with some little indignation, the profanity 
of the supposition, that there is any formal show 
in the deep rt ality of his grief, cannot be expressed 
by the natural form of the radical and vanish. 
There is a light and pleasant surprise in this mode 
of the concrete which would misrepresent the sen- 
timent. But if the voice is swelled to a greater 
stress as it descends, the grave severity and digni- 
fied conviction of the speaker become at once con- 
spicuous. The intonation of this line may be thus 
delineated : 

Seems, Ma dam, nay it is! I know not seems. 



^ 



I have in this reading set a rising third, or the 
most moderate form of interrogative expression, to 
the first word ; for there is in it a slight sentiment 
of inquiry. The succeeding clause, which contains 
a most positive affirmation, has the downward fifth ; 
and the whole scheme is calculated to show the 
opposite powers of expression in the rising and 
falling intervals, 



OP THE DOWNWARD FIFTH. 269 

This is not the place to represent the notation of 
stress : therefore I have drawn the natural radical 
and vanish of the fifth. In a future section I shall 
show the reason, why the radical of the downward 
movement is here set so far above the line of the 
current melody. 

The discrete transition of the falling fifth, or the 
change of radical pitch through that interval, has 
somewhat of the expression of its concrete form. 
It is applied on those syllables which will not bear 
the prolongation, necessary for the concrete ; and 
on the occasions of its employment, the two ex- 
tremes of the interval are made on two different 
syllables. The following notation will exemplify 
the radical change or skip of the falling fifth : 



But 


Bru — tus 


says 


he 


was 


am biti — ous. 






-4 


¥ 


^- 


IT + 


ff 




^ 




1 


* 












If I have a right conception of the manner of 
exhibiting the sentiment of this line, I would say, 
it requires the intonation of grave surprise rather 
than that of contemptuous contradiction, with which 
it is sometimes read. The craft of Antony's ora- 
tion turns upon the excitation of odium against the 
conspirators, by the favourable and moving repre- 
sentation of Caesar's virtues, more than by the co- 
loring of the crime of his assassins. And though 
in the well known burden of the speech, they are 
reported as honourable men, certainly not with the 
least good will in the title, still, the vocal curl of 



270 0F THE DOWNWARD FIFTH. 

sneer, which we sometimes hear on this phrase, is 
inappropriate and affected. At least this may be 
said of it, as it occurs in more than the first half of 
the speech : and when at last the speaker is en- 
couraged to bolder sentiments and declarations, 
they are those of quick and keen revenge; which 
wastes no time in the winding circumflex of con- 
temptuous intonation. But whatever may be said 
of the other parts of the speech, I must claim for 
the line above noted, the mode of intonation which 
expresses the surprise of the speaker, that any one 
could so violently reverse the fair conclusions from 
motives and actions : leaving to the audience to in- 
fer, from this surprise, that some other than ordina- 
ry or honest reasons must have influenced Brutus 
to make the ascription of ambition to Caesar. If the 
notation of the passage be made in the common dia- 
tonic melody, with the difference of a tone only in 
the changes of its radical pitch, it will become a 
mere report of a saying of Brutus, without the least 
show of the sentiment I have ascribed to it, and en- 
deavoured to justify. 



SECTION XXII. 

Of the Interval of the Downward Tliird. 

In general description, this interval may be said 
to carry the moderated expression of the fifth. 

The dignity of vocal character, like that of per- 
sonal gesture, consists not only in the abatement of 
force, and in the slowness of time, but in a limita- 
tion within the widest range of movement : And as 
there is more composure and solemnity in that form 
of interrogation which is made by the rise of the 
third j so the expression of surprise and admiration 
which belongs to the downward intervals, is in its 
most subdued and dignified degree, when heard on 
the falling third. 

One of the remarkable functions of the concrete 
descent of the third, is that which is performed on 
a syllable of long quantity, when found at the end 
of a sentence, or of a clause of discourse which 
contains a complete sense, but which may not be 
marked by the grammatical notation of a period. 
This use of the third was noticed and illustrated in 
the sixth section, and there described as consti- 
tuting the feeble cadence. Its character has this 
double effect : it seems to indicate that the sense 
may be taken as terminated at its place ; and yet it 
does not altogether destroy the expectation of a fur- 



272 0F THE INTERVAL 

ther continuation. No one would suppose on hear- 
ing this cadence, that the discourse was finished. 
As the rising third is sometimes used for empha- 
sis alone, independently of its interrogative import ; 
so the falling third may be employed, as the means 
of emphatic distinction, merely for the purpose of 
varying the effect of intonation. This may be illus- 
trated by the following notation : 



None 


but 


the 


brave ! 


None but 


tbe brave ! 




{ 






tf 


4 ^ 


4 


W 




4 


9 4 



None but the brave ! de serve the fair. 

There is certainly no inquiry conveyed by these 
words : yet I have set the rising interval of the 
third on one of the emphatic syllables. But there is 
a feeling of admiration in the case which may be 
expressed by the upward third, as was said in 
speaking of that interval. And it will be shown 
hereafter that all emphatic words, whatever other 
sentiments they may happen to comprehend, do 
carry with them something of the admirable. On 
this ground then all the emphatic repetitions of 
the word brave might receive the same interval. 
I have varied the intonation by setting the plain 
rising second to the first brave, the downward third 
to the second, and the rising third to the last : and 
this appropriation together with the falling third 
on the word none, does satisfy my ear with its agree- 



OF THE DOWNWARD THIRD. £73 

able variety. Speakers who are not aware of the 
efficacy of intonation, or who cannot skilfully com- 
mand it, seek to effect the necessary variety in this 
case, by the transfer of emphasis. They apply it 
in the iteration, successively and variously to none 
and but and brave. If I have a proper conception of 
the poet and any discrimination of the duties of the 
voice, I would say, even if there were no other 
means of variety than this change of emphatic 
stress, that it should not be used. The repetition of 
a phrase is a mark of fulness of feeling or of its 
rising energy, not of the change of sense. Nay, I 
might say, that there is a sort of reciprocity in the 
relations of sense and feeling: by which the energy 
of feeling insures a permanency of the sense ; and 
by which, conversely, identity in the sense pro- 
duces a continued if not a rising energy of feeling. 
The change of meaning, which is sometimes given 
to the above sentence, by placing the emphasis 
differently in repeating the phrase, has to me a too 
strongly marked affectation of variety, and too pal- 
pable an indication of thoughtful contrivance : and 
shows a restricted resource in the means of mana- 
ging the voice. The full command of quantity, and 
of the various elements of expression, renders it 
easy to relieve the ear from monotony of utterance 
on this passage, without changing or distorting the 
sense of the author : which, if the composition was 
a prompting of poetry, and not a mere trick of va- 
riety, must have been intended to be identical ill 
all the repetitions. 
In the above notation. I have shown nothing of 
n n 



274 0F THE INTERVAL 

the uses to be made of time and force : though both 
are available in this case, and give additional means 
for variety. 

What is here saiaofthe downward concrete third, 
in respect both to its character in the cadence and 
to its being substituted for the rising third, in the 
purposes of emphasis, may be said of the down- 
ward radical pitch of the third. But there is a pe- 
culiar use of this radical pitch of the third, for ef- 
fecting the full consummation of the cadence, which 
must not be overlooked. In speaking of the ca- 
dence I remarked that its different species denote 
a completion of the sense in various degrees of re- 
pose : the feeblest impression being that made by 
the concrete third on the last syllable of the sen- 
tence ; and the tripartite cadence, in which each of 
the radicals are heard distinctly in successive des- 
cent, being the most marked indication of the pe- 
riod. It is possible, however, to increase the char- 
acteristic of the close by additional means. A gradu- 
al descent of the current melody, as it approaches 
the cadence, is sometimes employed with that in- 
tent J and properly. But another and more elegant 
and impressive mode is to apply the downward rad- 
ical change of the third, on some syllable preceding 
the cadence, as in the following notation. 



Through E den took 


their 


sol 1 


— ta — ry way. 


€ * * 


4 


J <a 


f ' ^ _f- 


• * - - * 



If this line be read with the diatonic radical sue- 



OF THE DOWNWARD THIRD. £75 

cession throughout, the cadence, by its tripartite 
form will indeed mark a completion of the sense ; 
but the application of a downward radical change 
of the third on took, gives that warning of the pe- 
riod, or that note of preparation, which produces 
the utterly reposing termination which must be felt 
by the speaker and is required by the audience, 
on this last line of Paradise Lost. 

Other cadences denote, in various degrees, the 
conclusion of a particular sense. This, Prepared 
cadence, if I may so call it, implies that the sub- 
ject itself, of a paragraph, a chapter, or a volume, 
is finished. 

Let us here take a view of the various kinds of 
cadence. 

In the sixth section, five modes of the diatonic 
cadence were enumerated. Now as the Prepared 
form just described may be united with each of 
these, there may be ten distinct species : to say 
nothing of the chromatic. These are severally em- 
ployed by accomplished speakers, to give just ex- 
pression to the close ; or merely for the purpose of 
variety. If it would add precision to this subject, 
some of the forms of the cadence might be speci- 
fically named. 

The first form described in the sixth section may 
be called the rising triad, or tripartite form : be- 
cause it consists of three constituents ; and two of 
them have the upward vanish. 

The second form may be called the falling triad. 

The third may be called the first Duad : because 



276 0F THE DOWNWARD THIRD. 

it has but two constituents ; the first embracing the 
space of two tones. 

The fourth may be called the second duad : be- 
cause with only two constituents, the last occupies 
the place of two tones. 

The fifth may be called the Monad form of the 
cadence, from the space of the three constituents 
being executed on one syllable. 

I do not expect the reader to be able to distin- 
guish all these modes of the cadence : nor indeed is 
it necessary. Some of them, however, cannot be 
mistaken. The prepared form when set before the 
falling triad, is the most complete close ; and this 
is clearly separable from the monad, or what I 
call the feeble cadence, which gives the faintest 
indication of the period. I believe no ear will con- 
found the effect of either of the triads, the monad 
and the prepared cadence. 



SECTION XXIII. 

Of the downward Second and Semitone. 

I have classed these intervals under the same 
head, on account of the limited extent of the re- 
marks here made on each. They have a high im- 
portance in speech, but it is principally as appen- 
dages to the rising movement of the same intervals, 
in that form of intonation which has been called the 
circumflex, but which, in the next section will be 
named the Wave. 

The most remarkable use of the downward se- 
cond or tone, is as the last constituent of the cadence, 
when made either in the diatonic or chromatic spe- 
cies. It may be applied also to the two other con- 
stituents : and it is used occasionally in plain melo- 
dy, for the purpose of varying the impression of 
the rising second, which, in the history of that me- 
lody, was given as its characteristic. 

The downward semitone is sometimes employed 
for the purpose of variety, in the current of a chro- 
matic melody. It is also used on the constituents 
of a chromatic cadence ; the radical descent of this 
cadence being by the skip of a whole tone ; and the 
downward vanish on the last or closing constituent, 
being through the space of that same second or 
tone. 
In terminating the history of the downward inter- 



278 THE DOWNWARD SECOND AND SEMITONE. 

vals, I cannot avoid declaring an increasing admi- 
ration at the nicely adjusted means, and the sim- 
ple, yet compoundable elements which have thus 
far been pointed out as the symbols of expression. 
I have not extended the analysis to the entire 
detail of the subject ; being contented to encour- 
age the intelligent and persevering reader to- 
wards a work of greater range and precision, by 
setting before him what has been accomplished in 
a case of supposed impossibility. For I am persuad- 
ed that there does exist a more complete and 
beautiful system of nature, for the ordering of speech, 
than is here pointed out. He who chooses to follow 
the path thus opened, may fortunately find himself 
among the first comers to an ungathered field : a 
field which has been unapproached and unclaimed 
only because it has been believed by the indolent, 
to be barren or inaccessible ; or because the eye 
of the curious has been turned from the leading 
road of nature by the delusive directions of authori- 
ty. For what does the term, genius for discovery 
mean, besides the art of forgetting ourselves and 
others, and looking exclusively and perseveringly 
at our work ? Too many, alas ! imagine they are 
doing all these things, when they are only thinking 
of notoriety and hunting after the favorable opinion 
of mankind. 



SECTION XXIV. 

Of the Wave of the Voice. 

By the Wave of the voice, I mean the junction 
of the upward and downward movement in conti- 
nuous utterance. This function was known to the 
Greeks : and is noticed by modern writers, particu- 
larly by Mr. Steele and by Mr. Walker, under the 
term, Circumflex accent. 

As the wave is composed of the two opposite 
courses of pitch, each of which has various species 
of intervals, and as the direction of the outset of 
the voice and the number of its flexures may vary, 
the reader must expect to find in the history of this 
symbol, numerous and somewhat complicated sub- 
divisions. 

The Wave is a very frequent element in expres- 
sion, and performs high offices in speech. It there- 
fore becomes him who would not be a pretender 
in elocution, and who is willing to turn from the fal- 
terings of spontaneous effort in art, to the fnlness, 
the purpose, and the precision of scientific order 
and rule — it becomes him not to overlook the in- 
vestigation of the wave. 

In order to represent this matter clearly, let the 
several upward and downward movements, which 
by their continuity make the wave, be called the 
constituents. It is plain then that the constituents 



280 0F THE WAVE 

may be, octaves or fifths or thirds or seconds or 
semitones. 

Further, as the upward and downward concrete 
may be of different dimensions, it follows that the 
wave may be constituted of an upward and down- 
ward movement of the same interval \ or these con- 
stituents may differ from each other in extent of 
pitch. Thus the wave may consist of a rising and a 
falling third conjoined, or of a rising second continu- 
ed into a falling third. These varied modes of con- 
struction give rise to a distinction of the wave into 
Equal and Unequal. 

It will be found on experiment, that the wave 
with its first constituent ascending, and its second 
descending, has a different character of expression 
from one, which by first descending, has a reverse 
course of its constituents. Of the variety thus pro- 
duced, let the former case be called the Direct 
wave, and the latter the Inverted. 

I have thus represented the wave as consisting 
of two constituents only ; but it may have three or 
even more ; for the direct may have a subsequent 
rising interval, and the inverted, a subsequent fall- 
ing one. If there are but two constituents the wave 
may be called Single, and if three, the Double wave. 
If there are more than three, as may happen in 
some cases, to be pointed out presently, it may be 
called the Continued wave. 

By reflection on these distinctions, we may dis- 
cover their reciprocal relations. Thus the equal 
and the unequal wave may each be direct and in- 
verted—and single and double. The direct and in- 



OF THE VOICE. <>81 

verted, may each be equal or unequal — single or 
double. And the single and double may each be 
equal or unequal, — direct or inverted. 

But perhaps these relationships will be better 
understood from the tabular view in the next page. 



o o 



282 



OF THE WAVE 



Single, 



Equal, 



o 

8< 



a 

o 
o 



Direct, 



f Octave, 
| Fifth, 
4 Third, 
| Second, 
L Semitone. 



g ( Octave, 

« ic | Fifth, 

Inverted,? j= { Third, 

to 3 I Second, 

£ ^ Semitone, 



Direct, 



o.S 

Id 'C 



Double, g 



Inverted, 



£^ 



fa 



Octave, 

Fifth, 

Third, 

Second, 

Semitone, 



f Octave, 

| Fifth, 
<{ Third, 
j Second, 
^ Semitone, 



Unequal, g 



Direct, 



Single, 



g f Octave, 
S * Fifth, 
c .e <{ Third, 
£ -g I Second, 
,fc L SemitoDe, 



« be 



Inverted, 



Octave, 

Fifth, 
Third, 
Second, 
L Semitone, 



Double, 



( 


1 f Octave, 


3 


| & 1 Fifth, 


a 

0) 


Direct, g .5 <J Third, 


B 


**.g j Second, 
.§ . 1 Semitone, 


"S 


§ 


© - 




0) 




© 


£ f Octave, 
« be 1 Fifth, 




C 


Inverted, a-jj \ Third, 

■££ Second > 
•Js I Semitone 


'1 


a 



OF THE VOICE. 283 

In the preceding table, I have marked only the 
first constituent of the unequal wave. I therefore 
subjoin a further view of a scheme of the second 
and third constituents of the unequal wave, in its 
single and its double forms. I beg the reader to 
take this delineation as the history of what is per- 
formed by the voice, in the multiplicity of its com- 
binations 5 not as the record of a point of any prac- 
tical utility. 

In thus penetrating the recesses of nature, I must 
be allowed to describe her most minute phenomena, 
however presently useless it may be. I do assert 
then, that nearly all of the conditions here noticed, 
may be made designedly by a skilful use of intona- 
tion •, and they are perpetually made in daily dis- 
course, by the instinctive efforts of speech. But the 
expression of the unequal wave, as far as I can per- 
ceive, is limited to a few sentiments : most of the 
varieties here given, being only permutationsof con- 
stituents, answering the same purpose. Whether 
these symbols, which are not specially significant 
with us, have ever among nations been made the 
signs of ideas or feelings, is yet to be told. We have 
heard, but the account is altogether vague, that the 
Chinese change the meaning of the same elemental 
or syllabic sound, eight or ten times, by the vari- 
ety of intonation. Do they draw upon any of our 
forms of this merely ideal table of the unequal 
wave? 



284 



OF THE WAVE 



The first constit- 
uent being 



The second con- 
stituent being 
either a 



The third con- 
stituent being 
either a 



Single, 



Direct, 
Inverted, 



an octave. 



Semitone or 
second or 
third or 
fifth, 



I Semitone or 

Direct, > A Fifth. \ a f°°? d or 
Inverted, third or 

octave, 






Direct, \ A Third. 
Inverted? 



Direct, 
Inverted, 



" A Second. 



1 



Direct, f A Semitone. 
Inverted, 



Semitone or 
second or 
^ fifth or 
octave, 

Semitone or 
third or 
fifth or 
octave, 

Second or 
third or 
fifth or 
octave, 



Double 



Direct, 
Inverted, ' 



Direct, 
Inverted, 



Direct, 
Inverted, 



( Semitone or 

_i . Second or 

An Octave. <( Third or 

j Fifth, 



2d or 3d or *th 
Sem. 3d or 5th 
Sem. 2d or 5th 
Sem. 2d or 3d, 



A Fifth. 



A Third. 



(Semitone or 2d 3d or 8th 
J second or ] Sen.. M or «u» 
1 third or | Sem * ** or 8th 

octave, I Sem. 2d or 3d, 

Semitone or f *» **«'* 

second or J Sera. 5th or Ith 

Fifth or 
octave, 



Direct 
Inverted 



Direct, 
Inverted 






A Second. 



Semitone or 

third or 
' | Fifth or 
I octave, 



Sera. 2d or 5th, 
3d or 5th or 8th 



Second or 
\ third or 
A Semitone. ! fifth or 
I octave 

i 



K 



Sera. 5th or 8th 

Sem 3d or 8th 

Sem 3d or 5th, 



d or 5thof 8ih 
2d or 5th or 8th 
2d ox 3d or 8th 
2d or 3rd or 5th- 



OF THE VOICE. 285 

From a comprehensive view of this table it will 
be manifest to the reader, that there are several 
different manners in which these functions may be 
arranged. Any of the distinctions given above 
might be taken as the generic heads of the wave ; 
and the others might be included as species. Thus 
we might take the five intervals as the heads of as 
many sections. Then under each, for instance the 
octave, we might consider, first, the equal forms of 
this interval, and its combination with other inter- 
vals in the unequal form •, secondly its direct and 
inverted, and thirdly its single and double forms. 
Or we might take the distinction into single and 
double as the two generic heads, and under each of 
these, enumerate the species, as being equal or 
unequal, direct or inverted : and so of any other 
assumed order of these distinctions. There is how- 
ever a complexity in this subject, which is not re- 
ducible to the same plain system employed in the 
history of the more simple elements. 

I shall, according to the arrangement in the table, 
divide the phenomena of the wave into two great 
classes, the Equal and the Unequal ; and subdivi- 
ding each of these by the five intervals of the scale, 
I shall under the heads of these intervals, consider 
the direct and the inverted, the single and the dou- 
ble forms of this element. 

The pains which have been taken to define the 
technical terms of this essay, and the many illustra- 
tions which have been given, must have rendered 
the nomenclature and picture of the scale quite 
familiar to those who really desire to learn. The 



286 0F THE WAVE OF THE VOICE. 

description may therefore be so easily understood, 
that it is unnecessary to give the notation of the 
wave. The reader may mark it for himself, and 
apply it to those syllables that convey the senti- 
ments which will be hereafter assigned to its dif- 
ferent forms. I shall give some examples of its use 
in a future section on emphasis. 



SECTION XXV. 

Of the Equal Wave of the Octave. 

By the designating term of this section is meant 
the continuous movement of the voice, in the suc- 
cession of its upward and downward direction, 
through the interval here named. It may be either 
single, consisting of two constituents ; or double, 
consisting of three : though this double form is 
scarcely used. It may also be differently construct- 
ed, by the first constituent ascending, and the se- 
cond descending, which was called the direct wave; 
and by the reverse order of movement, which was 
called the inverted wave. 

In order to understand the nature of the expres- 
sion of the wave, let us recollect that this element 
is compounded of a rising and a falling interval, 
the respective expressions of which have already 
been described. Now it will be found that the wave 
generally partakes of the powers of its constitu- 
ents ; and further, that by its continuous flexure it 
enables the voice to carry on a long quantity with- 
out the risk of falling into the intonation of song or 
recitative. 

It is proper to state in this place that the wave, 
in all its forms, is modified by the application of 
force upon different parts of its course. I shall 
speak particularly hereafter of the variation of the 



ggg THE EQUAL WAVE OF THE OCTAVE. 

power of the concrete by stress. I remark now 
generally that it may be applied at the beginning 
or the end of the line of the wave, or at the place 
of junction of its constituents ; and that the addition 
of force to its termination gives to the several spe- 
cies of the equal wave, a coloring of temper and 
of scorn, which they do not possess in the natural 
or dwindling form of the concrete. 

The equal wave of the octave in its single form 
is not used, as far as I know, except for common 
colloquial mockery. In its double form it has the 
same expression, under a more continued quantity. 
If any distinction may be made between its direct 
and inverted forms, the latter from its ending in an 
upward concrete carries the power of interroga- 
tion: whilst the former from its downward final 
movement, has the positiveness which was ascribed 
to the falling intervals when uncompounded. If the 
direct and inverted wave of the octave be double, 
the rule on this point will be reversed ; for the di- 
rect will then end with the rising movement. 

On the whole, this element, in all its ways, be- 
longs more to the mere history of speech than to 
its elegancies ; and may rather, in point of use and 
expression, be classed among vulgar mouthings. 



SECTION XXVI. 

Of the Equal Wave of the Fifth. 

I have said enough of the nature of the wave 
and of intervals, to make it unnecessary to define 
this element. Its nomenclature alone is sufficiently 
descriptive of its structure. Nor need I say parti- 
cularly of this nor indeed of the succeeding section- 
al heads of the wave, in what manner their single 
and double, their direct and inverted forms are 
made. 

The equal wave of the fifth in each of its modes 
is used as one of the means of emphatic distinction ; 
and has therein an expression varying with its 
form. The equal single direct wave of the fifth con- 
sists of an ascending and descending concrete, 
which have in their separated state, respectively, 
the sentiment of interrogation and surprise. But 
the conjunction of the opposite movements of those 
concretes, takes from the ascending interval, its in- 
dication of a question, and leaves the impressiveness 
of surprise or admiration on the syllable to which 
it is applied. But there is another effect produced 
besides this annulling of interrogation. We have 
already learned that there is some difference be- 
tween the expression of the rising and the falling 
p p 



290 OF THE EQUAL WAVE 

concrete. The former is more cheerful and ani- 
mated in its cast, the latter more deliberate and 
grave. Now if the discourse in which an impres- 
sive intonation of the fifth is to be used, is of a dig- 
nified character, that impressive intonation is given 
to the emphatic syllable by a continuation of the 
upward into the downward flow of this interval, in 
the form of its direct wave. But further, this wave 
is used instead of the separate rise or fall of its in- 
terval, for the purpose of giving more quantity to 
the syllable which bears it. I alluded to the em- 
phasis of the simple fifth, in the thirteenth section, 
without a special reference to time : but if the sen- 
timent of the phrase is such as to require an unu- 
sually long quantity, this wave or the continuous 
downward turn of the fifth, takes the place of that 
simple ascending interval, which, in unskilful into- 
nation, might be liable to pass into song. 

The inverted wave of the fifth has the expression 
of surprised interrogation, arising out of the termi- 
nation of the last constituent, in the upward vanish 
of an interrogative interval. 

There is not much difference between the ex- 
pression of the single and the double wave of the 
fifth, except in the change of structure produced 
by the addition of a third constituent. The double 
direct here assumes an interrogative expression, 
from the vanishing rise of its last constituent ; and 
the double inverted has the meaning of surprise 
from its downward termination. Perhaps there is a 
little scorn conveyed by the double forms of the 
equal wave of the fifth. This is certainly the case 



OF THE FIFTH. 291 

when the last constituent receives greater stress 
than the others. On the whole, however, this dou- 
ble form is not very frequently used as a symbol 
of expression. 



SECTION XXVII. 

Of the Equal Wave of the Third. 

This wave, as regards its degree of expression, 
bears such a relation to that of the last section, as 
the simple rise of the third bears to the simple 
rise of the fifth. 

In all its forms, whether single or double, direct 
or inverted, the expression resembles respectively 
the different species of the equal wave of the fifth. 
The third, however, has in its several forms, a 
moderated degree of the characteristic expression 
of the similar forms of the fifth. From its reduced 
degree, it is of more frequent occurrence as the 
means of emphasis in unimpassioned lecture, than 
the fifth or the octave, which belongs especially to 
the spirit of colloquial dialogue, and to the forceful 
emphasis of the drama. It likewise serves, as the 
other intervals of the wave, to spread out the quan- 
tity of deliberate and dignified discourse. 



SECTION XXVIII. 

Of the Equal Wave of the Second. 

We come now to consider the most frequent and 
one of the most important forms of the wave. 

In speaking of the expressive power of melo- 
dy in the tenth section, it was said that the predo- 
minance of the phrase of the monotone was instru- 
mental in the expression of dignity and solemnity : 
and the first few lines of the second book of Mil- 
ton, were noted, in illustration of this principle. I 
must now add that a long quantity, on the accented 
and emphatic syllables, is an essential condition in 
the accomplishment of that dignity of expression. 
But it is necessary, for the full perfection of this 
character, that a certain mode of intonation should 
be set upon these long quantities ; and the requisite 
mode is that of the Equal wave of the second, either 
in its single or double, its direct or inverted form. 

The diatonic melody was formerly described 
as if the vanish of every syllable was upward, 
whatever the character of the plain discourse might 
be. It has since been shown that the downward 
vanish of a tone is occasionally introduced with a 
view to vary the current. The difficulty of making 
a perspicuous arrangement in a subject altogether 
new, and of giving a full description of parts, 
which are nearly related, but which must be sue- 



£94 OF THE EQUAL WAVE 

cessive, has obliged me to proceed in that way of 
gradual and partial development, of frequent re- 
consideration, and of addition, which distinguishes 
the elementary order of this essay. Consistently 
with this chosen order, I have now to add that the 
rising movement of the voice whatever be the in- 
terval, (except the semitone,) has more gayety of 
expression than the downward progress. Hence 
discourse of an easy and sprightly character, of 
quick time, and of short quantity, is generally 
carried on with the rising vanish of the employed 
interval ; as may be seen in foregoing representa- 
tions of the diatonic melody. But if the discourse 
should be of a grave cast, and should necessarily 
call for long quantities, as indeed happens in some 
of the examples which we have noted with the 
simple rise, then the wave of the second is to be 
used. The descent of the interval after its rise, 
forming the direct wave, takes off the light and fa- 
miliar expression which belongs to the simple rise 
of the second : whilst the length of the quantity 
being consumed by the contrary flexures, the voice 
is still kept within the rule of the equable intona- 
tion of speech. 

What is here said of the use of the direct wave 
of the second, in adding dignity and solemnity to a 
diatonic melody, is also true of the inverted second. 
For if the reader be able to make the rise and con- 
tinued fall through a tone, or reversely, the fall 
and the rise, on any chosen literal element or word, 
he will observe a difference in the effect. But each 
case will be equally destitute of that striking into- 



OF THE SECOND. QQ5 

nation, which belongs to the wider intervals, whe- 
ther upward or downward, and which would be 
incompatible with the avowed character of the dia- 
tonic progress : except for the occasional purpose 
of emphasis. But these two contrary forms of the 
wave of the second, without adding any high color- 
ing to the melody, serve to give variety to the in- 
tonation of solemn discourse. 

I am not aware that the double form of the equal 
wave of the second has any peculiar expression or 
power beyond that of the single form, except in 
extending the quantity of syllables. Indeed, the 
unusual protraction of quantity in the diatonic me- 
lody, instinctively produces the double form of the 
wave ; since the voice may take this serpentine 
line, through the second, without producing any un- 
pleasant snarl, similar to the double wave on some 
of the higher intervals. 

I spoke above of a continued form of the wave, 
or a progress of the line of contrary flexures be- 
yond the term of three constituents. It is in the 
use of the equal wave of the second, in the diato- 
nic melody, that this extension is most conspicuous 
and useful ; if indeed it be in any other case admis- 
sible. For should any extraordinary expression of 
solemnity of emphasis on an indefinite syllable re- 
quire an unusually protracted quantity ; and should 
the time of the syllable not be exhausted, when 
the voice has passed through the three constituents 
of the double wave, it must necessarily be carried 
on in the note of song or recitative, or it must con- 
tinue in the flexure of the wave. If it take the 



296 OF THE EQUAL WAVE 

form of the flexures, the bad effect of either of the 
two former cases will be avoided : nor will this 
multiplied repetition of the rise and fall, through 
this small interval of a tone, produce any positive 
or unpleasant impression. 

I have ascribed an importance to the subject of 
this section, because it opens the way to one of the 
most useful principles in the art of reading well. I 
have all along kept in view a distinction between 
the plain melody formed by the rise or fall of the 
voice through the interval of a tone, and a melody 
produced by the use of other intervals which 
endow the utterance with what was distinctively 
called Expression. There are very few readers 
able to execute this plain melody, in the beautiful 
simplicity of its diatonic construction. Some give 
constantly the rise of the third, or the semitone : 
or set on every emphatic word, one of the forms 
of the wave. Perhaps these faults rise from an at- 
tempt to give a greater degree of dignified expres- 
sion or of variety, to the simple melody, than an 
unpracticed reader is able to effect, by the manage- 
ment of the second alone : and in this attempt, some 
of the above mentioned elements of intonation are 
fallen upon, which produce a disgusting monotony. 
For the impressiveness of these higher intervals 
leaves such deep tracks on the ear, that, when un- 
duly repeated, their identity becomes conspicuous 
and offensive. Whereas the simple interval of the 
tone, like the smaller particles of speech, may be 
frequently repeated without producing a tiresome 
impression : and the use of the several forms of the 



OF THE SECOND. 297 

equal wave of the second throws sufficient variety 
into this diatonic melody, without destroying its cha- 
racteristic plainness. They give time and dignity, 
whilst the simple rise belongs to a shorter quantity, 
and to a gayer kind of expression. 

No one, who has not made an analysis of this 
subject, or has not had its peculiar effect distinctly 
pointed out, can be aware of the unpretending force, 
diversified succession, and severe simplicity of the 
diatonic melody, when conducted on the principles 
of the radical change formerly laid down ; and va- 
ried by the appropriate disposition of the single 
rise and fall, the direct and inverted wave, and cer- 
tain modes of stress to be described in a future 
section. Upon the plain level of this melody, the 
occasional expression of the higher elements comes 
with all the power which variety of impulse, and 
measurable contrast must necessarily produce. 
Whereas he who is constantly dealing out his se- 
mitones, thirds, fifths, and wider waves, allows no 
repose to the ear •, and when the real occasions for 
their application occur, the sensibility to their con- 
templated influence is exhausted 



<*q 



SECTION XXIX. 

Of the Equal Wave of the Semitone. 

• The chromatic melody was formerly described 
as consisting of the repetition of the radical and 
vanish of the semitone. But it was even then stated, 
that the intonation is made by the conjunction of 
the rising and the falling interval, for the purpose 
of giving a more remarkable impression of the 
plaintiveness of this symbol, and for adding length 
to the quantity of syllables. In the varieties of its 
construction, the semitone is like the other species 
of the wave. Its direct, inverted and double forms 
are used to add greater dignity and feeling to the 
quality of the simple rise ; and at the same time to 
furnish means for diversifying the current of the 
melody. 

The mingling of the reverse forms of the wave, 
for this last purpose, is peculiarly necessary in the 
chromatic species ; for the continued repetition of 
an impressive interval and the predominance of 
the phrase of the monotone make it desirable to 
vary as much as possible the character of the wave, 
without destroying the essential nature of its plain- 
tive constituent. Now this is effected, in a degree, 
by the above named appropriate disposition of the 
direct and inverted wave of the semitone. For 
these contrary directions have a difference of cha- 



THE EQUAL WAVE OF THE SEMITONE. 299 

racter which may be perceived by comparative 
trials; and a delicate and critical ear will be struck 
with the effect of a well ordered variety of these 
elements, even though it might not be able to point 
out its causes, nor devise or repeat its approved 
arrangement. 

It may be said on the subject of this and the pre- 
ceding section, that whenever a good reader ex- 
tends at will, the quantity of his syllables, and surely 
no one can read well without the faculty of doing 
this, he does instinctively give the intonation of 
these waves, in all deliberate and solemn utterance : 
whilst on the other hand, his voice assumes the 
simple rise and fall of these intervals, without the 
continuous flexure, in delivering those lighter and 
more energetic sentiments which naturally suggest 
a shorter time of syllables, and a more rapid transi- 
tion of discourse. 

If such are the spontaneous and satisfactory efforts 
of the voice, it may be asked, why we should labour 
so deeply in an analysis, which, when compounded 
again into practice, will no more than meet the 
fulfilment of natural endeavor. I have said these 
points of intonation are accomplished by a good 
reader ; one in whom nature has established that 
admirable conformity between the spirit which 
identifies itself with the thoughts and feelings of 
the author, and the organ which executes the audi- 
ble picture of its sympathies : by one, who, when 
he feels the uneasiness of error, will give even 
painful industry for its correction ; and who, in his 
self-directed labours, is unconsciously following the 



300 THE EQUAL WAVE OP THE SEMITONE. 

order, and effecting much of the purpose of scien- 
tific analysis and rule. 

But how shall he find out or preserve his way, 
who has not the natively inspired grace of improve- 
ment; who searches for right, without knowing 
what is wrong ; and who copies both the faults and 
merits of an individual example, instead of reach- 
ing forth, under the direction of well devised pre- 
cept, to gather excellence by a comprehensive se- 
lection. It is to such a person that the development 
of the accidents of speech becomes indispensable. 
To him the connexions of system, the precision of 
definition, and the fulness of history afford those 
aids, which the keen economy of observation, and 
the winged thrift of genius may not require. 



SECTION XXX. 

Of the Wave of Unequal Intervals. 

By the term here employed I mean to denote 
that element of expression, which consists of lines 
of contrary flexure, but which is compounded of 
differing intervals. Thus, if the voice rises through 
a second, and then in continuation falls through a 
third : or if it falls through a given interval and 
rises through a different one, it is to be called the 
Unequal Wave. 

It will at once be perceived that there is a direct 
and an inverted, a single and a double form of this 
element : and that the possible combinations of its 
constituents are so various, that the complex enu- 
meration of them would be altogether useless, ex- 
cept the expression of each of their permutations 
could be pointed out. But I am not aware that the 
varieties of expression bear the least proportion in 
number to the multiplied species of this symbol. 
It embraces indeed wonder, admiration and inter- 
rogation, in different degrees, according to the 
extent of the interval and the direction of its last 
constituent. I am not however able to assign to the 
unequal wave, any peculiarly characteristic senti- 
ment, except that of strongly marked scorn, and 
other feelings which are congenial with it. This 



302 0F THE WAVE 

expression, as was formerly remarked, is in a 
slight degree conveyed by the curling of the cur- 
rent of the equal wave, and even by the simple 
rising and the falling fifth and octave, when there 
is much stress, or an aspiration laid upon their va- 
nishing extremes. But the most striking sign of 
contemptuous sentiment consists in a wide variation 
of the extent of the intervals of the wave 5 especi- 
ally if the wave is double and the intonation strong- 
ly aspirated, or has a guttural energy on its last 
constituent. 

This wave of unequal intervals is found in the 
representation of the higher passions of the drama, 
and in the peevishness and colloquial cant of 
common life : but it should be rarely used in that 
moderate temper which belongs to the greater 
part of written discourse. It has a vulgar earnest- 
ness and a quaint familiarity which renders it ad- 
verse to a grave design of speech. 

If the expression of scorn is required in a cur- 
rent melody of dignified or solemn utterance, it is, 
when under the direction of nice feeling and taste, 
generally made by the proper application of stress 
and aspiration to the simple rise or fall of the third 
or fifth, which gives the more moderate expression 
of this sentiment; at furthest, in such a case, the 
expression is not carried beyond the aspirated 
structure of the single equal wave. 

Having given a general view of the unequal 
wave, in the tabular scheme, I here speak of one 
or two of its species. If there is any thing neces- 
sary to complete the practical purposes of this 



OF UNEQUAL INTERVALS. 3Q3 

subject, beyond this limited specification, and the 
general remarks which I have made, I leave the 
detailed discrimination as a work for future obser- 
vers. 

There is a use of the unequal wave, to which I 
alluded in speaking of the chromatic melody, which 
forms an exception to the ascription of the senti- 
ment of scorn to this symbol. It is that of its em- 
ployment in the course of this melody, for the pur- 
pose of interrogation. For in this case it is neces- 
sary to give, on the same syllable, the intonation 
both of plaintiveness and of the question ; and this 
grafting can be accomplished, only by subjoining 
to the equal direct wave of the semitone, or to the 
first constituent of its inverted form, the rise of the 
third, or fifth or octave. But it is proper to remark 
here, that this as well as other forms of the une- 
qual wave, can pass as unexpressive of scorn, only 
by giving it without the aspiration, and without the 
stress on its last constituent. 

There is likewise an instance of the unequal 
wave, by which the cadence of a chromatic melody 
is made on one syllable : for in this case the voice 
rises through the interval of a semitone, and then 
in continuation descends concretely to form the 
third for the close. And it may be recollected that I 
said, this mode of intonation was not to be used, on 
account of its peculiar expression being unsuitable 
to the general condition of the cadence. From the 
expression of its constituents, it bears the sentiment 
of plaintive or querulous surprise, and consequently 
is admissible on the last long quantity of a chro- 



3Q4 OF THE WAVE 

matic sentence, only when this sentiment is set 
forth in its final word. If however the element 
be increased in force towards its close, and if it be 
aspirated, it will bear more conspicuously the ex- 
pression of querulous scorn. 

The wave, in every form, requires more than 
any other element the basis of a long quantity. We 
may therefore understand why long quantities are 
necessary for reaching the full dignity of utterance, 
since these alone are capable of bearing the wave : 
the dignity being produced by the junction of the 
higher intervals, on emphatic words, and by the 
wave of the second or the semitone, in the conti- 
nued current of the diatonic or chromatic melody. 
With the light of this principle, the reader may see 
on what defensible ground I formerly asserted, that 
the majestic movement of the first line of the second 
book of Paradise Lost, was shocked by the occur- 
rence of the word " state.'' 

High on a throne of Royal state which far. 

All the accented syllables of this line except 
" state" are of indefinite quantity, and will bear the 
equal wave of the second. The same is true of 
nearly all the syllables in the three succeeding 
lines of the passage : and with the exceptions here 
alluded to, the whole is admirably fitted, in its 
time, for the vocal representation of this magnifi- 
cent description by the Never-equalled Poet. 

From an inattention to this point of quantity, it 
often happens that poets use syllables of immutable 
time, in those emphatic places which call for the 



OF UNEQUAL INTERVALS. 395 

expression of the wave. The case in the following 
example, which was cited in the ninth section, will 
now be better understood. 

And practiced distances to cringe, nut fight 

The sentiment of scornful exultation conveyed 
by the words " not fight," here requires a form of 
the unequal wave on each of these syllables ; but 
from the limitation of their quantity, it is impos- 
sible to apply these elements, without the most dis- 
gusting departure from correct pronunciation. 

In speaking of the various ascending and de- 
scending concrete intervals, it was shown that a 
similar, though diminished effect of intonation was 
produced by the leap or change of the voice, from 
the radical of any concrete to the top of its vanish, 
without passing through the intermediate space. 
Now since the wave is only the junction of the 
concretes of its constituents, it might naturally be 
supposed that some expression analogous to the 
effect of the concrete wave, may be produced by 
radical changes to the extremes of its flexures. A 
correspondence of this kind may be displayed on 
some of the forms of the wave. Thus in the case 
of the words " not fight" given above, some approxi- 
mation may be made towards the required expres- 
sion of the continued concrete, by giving the par- 
ticle " not" on a certain place of pitch, and " fight" 
at the distance of a third or a fifth in discrete radi- 
cal pitch below it ; and by subsequently ending this, 
word with a rapid concrete rise of the second : thus 
producing a kind of discrete form of the unequal 
r r 



306 OF THE WAVE 

single inverted wave of the third or fifth and se- 
cond, as represented in the tabular view. This 
mode of intonation comes nearer to the required 
expression of the phrase than if the line was termi- 
nated by the common triad of the cadence : for this 
would be utterly destitute of the expression of that 
contemptuous insinuation, which is intended in this 
proud exultation of Satan. 

Another example which was given in the eighth 
section may serve still further to illustrate this at- 
tempt to reach, by radical skip, the proper power 
of the impracticable concrete. 

Faithful to whom? To thy rebellious crew ? 
Army of Fiends, fit body to fit head. 

The words here marked in italics carry the sen- 
timents of admiration and scornful compliment, and 
would be intonated by a good reader, with an alter- 
nate skip of the radical pitch through the rise and 
fall of a third or fifth : for in this way only, that is 
by marking the extremes of intervals, which, with 
extendible syllabic quantity would be given as a 
continued wave, can that open eye of wonder, and 
snarling of scorn, be substitutively executed. But 
even with all the assistance from the radical skip, 
the reader, if he possess the soul of elocution, will 
still find it imprisoned within these words. 

I wish here to recal the attention of the reader 
to the subject of syllabication, which was treated of 
in the fourth section. It was there said, that the 
various accidents of syllables are governed by the 
function of the radical and vanishing movement. I 



OF UNEQUAL INTERVALS. QQJ 

then hinted that it is not the upward and the 
downward concrete alone which limit the flow of 
syllabic sound j but that the impulse is practicable 
through another form of pitch. We are now pre- 
pared to hear that the unbroken current of the 
voice, may be carried through the contrary move- 
ments of the wave, without destroying that single- 
ness of impression which constitutes one of the 
characteristics of a syllable. 

I said enough on the subject of elemental utter- 
ance, to make this matter explicable by a few 
words. The wave is a continuous sound, and con- 
sequently affords no opportunity for the silence- 
breaking outset of a new radical, which, with a 
consequent vanish would produce another syllable. 
For it was shown that the interruption of utterance, 
whether made wilfully by pause, or necessarily by 
the occurrence of an abrupt or an atonic element, 
is unavoidably the end of one syllable, and the pre- 
face to the beginning of another. 

After the description which has thus far been 
given of the individual functions of the speaking 
voice, we may lake a more comprehensive view of 
the subject, by recapitulating the account of these 
elements as they appear in the connected current 
of discourse : and thereby show them in the joined 
relations of synthesis, as well as in the separate in- 
dividuality of decomposition. 

We speak to communicate our ideas, and, if the 
difference of the cases be allowed, to express our 
feelings or sentiments. Language should therefore 
have a set of symbols for each of these modes. But 



308 0F THE wave 

as it is difficult, if not impossible, to draw a definite 
line of distinction between mere thoughts and sen- 
timents ; so the oral symbols which represent them 
cannot be absolutely disjoined in arrangement. I 
have, however, endeavoured to give a practical 
division founded on some of their obviously dissi- 
milar phenomena. 

That which I call the plain diatonic melody, 
consists of a simple rise through the concrete of a 
tone, varied by the occasional use of the downward 
tone; with a radical pitch playing in its several 
phrases ; and a termination of the melody by the 
descent of the cadence. The smoothness and beau- 
ty of delivery, in this case, is largely dependent on 
that construction of the radical and vanish which 
displays a full and well marked opening of the con- 
crete and a gradual diminution of its force. These 
are the elements employed and this their disposi- 
tion, for reading plain narrative or description : and 
I am sure that if the definitions of astronomy, title 
deeds of property, and gazette advertisements, be 
not read in this style of intonation, the effect will 
be unsuitable to their passionless thoughts. 

In the above cases, as well as in the wider range 
of subject to which the diatonic melody is applied, 
the movement of utterance is supposed to be with 
a tripping step and the quantity not unusually pro- 
longed. If however the thoughts should have some 
bearing of importance, and call for more impres- 
siveness, an increase of quantity in the accented 
syllables, together with a general slowness of the 



OF UNEQUAL INTERVALS. 309 

time will be assumed : the concrete still continuing 
in a rising though protracted form. 

Should this deliberate movement be further 
urged by the influence of sentiments of solemn 
dignity, the melody will assume the form of the 
mingled progression of the direct and inverted 
equal wave of the second. There is much of the 
church service which should be read in this plain 
protracted intonation. It conveys in full, the senti- 
ments of august composure and solemnity and ve- 
neration. The proper management of these con- 
trary directions of the wave gives sufficient variety 
to the melody : whilst it is free from those forceful 
impressions of the higher intervals of the scale, 
which would break the stately ease and designed 
simplicity of the movement. I believe the account 
of this last style of melody, includes the true his- 
tory of the production of graceful dignity of voice ; 
which is in vain attempted through the breadth of 
o's and aitfs in mouthing ; strong percussive accents 
with long pauses ; the waves of wide intervals ; and 
that heartless affectation which moves without mo- 
tive or rule, in unexpected transition from the 
strongest cushion-beating emphasis, or stage vocife- 
ration, to the frustrated significancy of a mysterious 
whisper. 

Though the above forms of melody are here re- 
presented as being used independently of any other 
mode of intonation, yet it must be understood that 
notwithstanding the plainest kind is often employed 
exclusively throughout discourse : yet even this, 
but more especially the dignified diatonic of the 



310 OF THE WAVE 

wave, is found mingled with the symbols of higher 
expression. For it may happen that these melodies 
may contain a question ; which must be made, ac- 
cording to its grammatical construction, or to the 
sentiment which dictates it, with a greater or less 
use of the intervals of the third or fifth or octave. 
And though they may embrace no interrogation, 
some words may require to be distinguished above 
the rest : and in that emphatic distinction there may 
be couched a sentiment of surprise, or positive- 
ness, or serious or mirthful admiration, or scorn. 
Now the emphatic syllables of words which mark 
these sentiments, are so distinguished by the rising 
and falling intervals of the scale, and by the various 
forms of the wave: this effect being produced either 
by the concrete or the discrete intonation of these 
emphatic symbols. 

There is another interval of the scale, the semi- 
tone, which is used for the emphatic distinction of 
single words, and which conveys a sentiment of 
complaint or pity or tenderness or submissive sup- 
plication. But the more general use of this semi- 
tone is upon phrases, sentences, and even through- 
out the long track of discourse. This is called the 
chromatic melody. It too has its structure of a sim- 
ply ascending concrete, which gives the least de- 
gree of the sentiments of this melody, on its least 
prolonged quantities. It has also the higher wrought 
and more dignified degree of expression, belonging 
to the equal wave of the semitone, in the variations 
of its direct and inverted, its single and its double 
forms. There are some parts of the church service 



OF UNEQUAL INTERVALS. 3H 

which contain the sentiments of humbly penitent 
complaint and imploring submission ; these call for 
this solemn wave of the chromatic melody. 

There are other elements which serve to make 
up ihe phenomena of correct, elegant and expres- 
sive speech. These were considered under the 
terms, of quantity of voice ; of melody or the run 
of the radical pitch on its different phrases; of 
pauses and of the proper phrases of intonation to 
be used at them ; and of the grouping of the voice, 
or the means of impressing on an auditor more de- 
finitely the syntactical relation of words and phrases, 
by means of pause, emphasis and the variations of 
time and force. 

This summary includes the elements which have 
thus far been enumerated. There are some import- 
ant functions, yet to be described, which will fur- 
nish us with the symbols of other sentiments 



SECTION XXXI. 

Of the Tremor of the Voice. 

If the reader has borne in mind the definitions 
contained in the first section of this essay, he may 
perhaps have reflected that the functions of pitch 
which have been analyzed are, severally, pheno- 
mena of the concrete and discrete scales, and of the 
chromatic. I design to speak now of an element of 
expression derived from the Tremulous scale. 

This scale consists of a rise and fall through the 
octave, by the successive steps of that particular 
play in the throat which in common language is 
called gurgling. I have not invented the term 
tremor as significative of a mode of the voice : but 
I here first give its analysis, and decree its system- 
atic arrangement, as conducive to the establishment 
of principles, for the attainment of correctness and 
elegance of speech. 

In speaking of the tremulous scale, I gave a very 
general account of its construction. I must now be 
more particular. 

It has more than once been affirmed in this es- 
say, that every effort of the voice is unavoidably 
made through the radical and vanishing movement: 
and I hope it has been satisfactorily shown, that the 
effect of the various intervals of the scale may be 
distinctly recognized, even on the shortest immuta- 
ble syllables. 



OF THE TREMOR OF THE VOICE. 313 

Since then each of the tonic and subtonic elements 
when uttered in their shortest time does always 
pass through the concrete, it follows that, however 
quickly successive any one of them may be repeat- 
ed, each impulse of the iteration must be a concrete 
interval. If therefore the tremor be made on any 
of the above named elements, the successive con- 
stituent impulses of that tremor will each be a 
rapid concrete of some one interval of the scale. 
Taking the names of the intervals as the terms for 
designation, there may be a tremor of the semitone, 
of the second, of the third, of the fifth and of the 
octave. That is each of those successive percussions 
may rapidly rise or fall through those intervals re- 
spectively. Yet this is not all, for the utterance is 
here supposed to be continued on one line of radi- 
cal pitch, the vanishes rising therefrom to their 
respective hights : whereas, whilst the iteration is 
going on in any one interval, for instance the se- 
cond, the series of rapid seconds, so made, may be 
raised or depressed through the whole compass of 
the voice. This change of pitch in the tremulous 
movement is made in two ways. 

First : The iteration, or these Tittles of sound, if 
I may so call them, may be made on one line, sup- 
pose at the lowest note of the voice. From this line 
the voice may leap upward through the interval of 
a tone : and after some tremor on this line may pass 
upward in succession by the proximate degrees of 
the scale through the whole extent of the voice. la 
this way it is manifest that the ascent is merely 
through the diatonic scale of song, with the addition 



s s 



314 OF THE TREMOR 

of the tremor on each of the stated places of the 
scale. 

Secondly: The ascent through the scale may be 
made by each tittle of the tremor being taken suc- 
cessively above the last, at a less distance than the 
tone or even the semitone. In this way, by an equa- 
ble progress of the tremor, the whole compass of 
the voice may be traversed without showing mark- 
ed degrees or points except those of the rising tit- 
tles themselves. 

I know of no means for ascertaining the dimen- 
sions of the space in this change of pitch of the tre- 
mor. It may be inferred that it is considerably less 
than a semitone : For if any cognizable interval, for 
instance, a third, be assumed as a space to be run 
through, (and this may be judged of by familiariz- 
ing the ear with the effect of the interval in its skip 
from first to third, and by comparing this with the 
rise of the tremor) it will be perceived, that though 
the voice gradually ascends by the tremulous steps; 
yet the number of these steps is greater than five, 
the amount of the semitone points included between 
the extremes of this third. The iterations are too 
many then, to allow us to suppose the space trav- 
ersed, to be greater than a semitone ; and it is not 
exactly this last interval. For if it was so, it would 
communicate a plaintive or semitonic character to 
the tremor, even though the concrete or rapid van- 
ish of the tittles themselves might be any other in- 
terval than that of the semitone. 

What has been said of the concrete of the tremor 
and of the minute interval by which it skips in an 



OF THE VOICE, 315 

upward direction, is to be understood of the pro- 
gress of the voice in a downward course. In this 
case, of the change of pitch by the downward steps, 
the rapid concrete may ascend or descend : for the 
reader will find on trial, that whilst thus descend- 
ing he can give the tremor, either with the effect 
of the rising interrogative intervals, or of the posi- 
tiveness or surprise of the downward vanish. 

After this description of the mode of ascent and 
descent of the tremor, the reader is prepared to 
see through its whole construction. 

The tremor then consists of a number of impul- 
ses of sound, of the least assignable duration, which 
nevertheless do pass concretely, through the various 
intervals of the scale, and which rapidly succeed 
each other. These impulses being iterations on the 
same line of pitch; or being a series of sounds rising 
or falling through the scale by very small discrete 
intervals. 

That the tremor is so constructed, may be learn- 
ed from experiment-, for it will show that the 
voice may be continued in the tremulous function 
without rising or falling : and that it may on that 
tremor be also carried to the lowest audible pitch, 
or to the highest reach of the falsette. And further, 
that the constituent tittles of the tremor, however 
momentary, do pass rapidly through concrete in- 
tervals may be proved by trial : for the plaintive 
effect of intonation, which is producible only on a 
semitone, may be given to every part of the ascend- 
ing series of the tremor, when it moves through 
the whole compass of the voice; and in like manner 



31G OF THE TREMOR 

the plain effect of the tone, and the interrogative 
expression of the third or fifth or octave, may be 
given to this rising series. Now as the skip or the 
ascent is not a semitone, or tone, or other higher 
interval, but a very minute space as was said above, 
it is plain, the effects here spoken of cannot be 
made by the minute skip, but that they result from 
the momentary transit through those intervals on 
the constituent tittles of the tremor. 

It was upon the ground of this mode of progres- 
sion, so different from the concrete movement and 
from the discrete steps by the tone and the semi- 
tone, that I ventured, in the first section, to desig- 
nate this discrete chattering function of variation 
in pitch, the Tremulous scale. 

As it has been stated that this tremulous func- 
tion may be exhibited either in a rising or falling 
movement, it is scarcely necessary to add that it 
may be carried through the compounded form of 
the wave. Let us then after the analogy of our pre- 
ceding nomenclature, call the rise or fall of the 
series of iterations, the Radical pitch of the tremor : 
and the rapid transit of each of the momentary 
sounds or tittles, its Concrete pitch. 

The uses and power of the tremor, in the work 
of expression, can be better explained after a pre- 
fatory consideration of the functions of Laughing 
and Crying. 

The pure and unpronounced act of Laughing 
consists in the use of the tremulous scale, such as 
it has been described, both in its concrete and radi- 
cal pitch. Its concrete pitch may be any of the in- 



OF THE VOICE. 317 

tervals of the scale, except the semitone ; and its 
radical pitch may either be continued on the same 
line, or it may rise or fall through the whole com- 
pass of the voice. In speaking of the application 
of concrete intervals to immutable syllables, it was 
shown how the space of the transit might be re- 
cognized ; and the reader may practically apply it 
here, in discriminating the intervals which are 
used in laughter. 

If the concrete pitch be that of the tone, and if 
the tremor on it be continued in the same line of 
radical pitch, the function may indeed bear the 
name of laughter, but it will be a mere phlegma- 
tic chuckling in the throat. Whilst the concrete is 
still in the tone, if the iterations of the radical pitch 
move through the larger spaces of the scale, the 
expression of the laugh will become more sprightly 
and colored. But when the third or the fifth is 
used in the concrete pitch, and the radical itera- 
tions are carried through the wide intervals of the 
scale, it gives the utmost indication of vivid excite- 
ment. 

Laughing is generally made on one of the tonic 
elements, but it may be executed on the subtonics, 
and even in a whispering manner on the atonies. 
It is made on all places within the compass of the 
voice, but it generally affects the falsette. Suppo- 
sing the quality of the voice to be given, that mode 
of laughter will be most agreeable and varied and 
spirited, which is made by a tremor of well accent- 
ed tittles, distinctly separated from each other ; with 
a concrete pitch, in varying succession, through 



318 OF THE TREMOR 

every interval except the semitone ; and playing 
through the whole range of compass, in its radical 
pitch : the expression being still further colored 
by variations in force or loudness of utterance, as 
the tremor moves through its radical course. 

Crying is made by a movement through the sim- 
ple rise or fall of the semitone, or through its direct 
or inverted wave. No other interval is used in 
this function : The act of crying has two modes : it 
may be in the concrete or in the tremulous scale. 
Infants cry in the first manner, by a mere pro- 
tracted quantity on some tonic element, carried 
through the above named semitonie movements. 
It is a long time before the tremor is heard in 
their voice. The first step towards it, is in the 
convulsive catch of sobbing. By degrees this in- 
creases in frequency, and the cry becomes at last 
composed of the rapid iteration of the tremor. 

The tremulous function of crying, like that of 
laughing, consists of a concrete and of a radical 
pitch. That is, its rapid concrete semitone may 
successively ascend or descend through the whole 
compass of the voice, by such minute discrete steps 
as were ascribed to the radical pitch of laughter. 
The tremulous mode of the cry give the strongest 
characteristic of this function. 

It sometimes happens that children whilst crying 
in the tremulous movement, do from some momen- 
tary change of sentiment, and without pause of the 
tremor, pass into laughter. Here a cheerful senti- 
ment necessarily produces a change of the tremor, 
from the semitone to the second or other higher in- 



OF THE VOICE. 3]g 

terval. And in a paroxysm of hysteria, the transi- 
tion from the semitone to other intervals is so 
frequent and rapid, that the hearer is often at a 
momentary loss, to say which function is in opera- 
tion. Under this state of variation, a person may 
properly be said to laugh and cry in the same breath. 
The association of the semitone, whether in its 
simply prolonged or in its tremulous form, with the 
sentiment of distress is so strong, that though cry- 
ing may have ceased, still if the feeling of distress 
has not passed away, there is a kind of mental 
hiatus in the attempt to return even to the diatonic 
intonation of speech. The chromatic will rather 
be assumed. There are persons, who, for the sake 
of sport or fraud, play the part of crying. If they 
are habitual mimics, and have flexible voices, they 
may deceive. But nature will often be honest, 
where her artificial counterpart called humanity 
would be the knave. Crafty men are so well aware 
that the lips may mar the underplots of the heart, 
that they are obliged to guard the ruling passion 
by silence. When mirth or sorrow is in the mind, 
it is hard to stop the emanation of its habitual ex- 
pression. He who would be to others an unsus- 
pected hypocrite in his voice, must mask even his 
sentiments to himself. 

After the foregoing account of the use of the 
tremor or single elements, in the functions of laugh- 
ing and crying, it is not difficult to foresee the effect 
of its application to syllabic utterance, in the cur 
rent of discourse. 

When the semitone of speech is given under the 



320 OF THE TREMOR 

form of tremor, it increases the force of the expres- 
sion which belongs to the concrete of that interval, 
in the chromatic melody. For since crying is the 
ultimate voice of distress, its tremulous character- 
istic is adopted as the means of marking an intensity 
of feeling, in the excess of complaint and grief, and 
the ardor of distressful or tender supplication. 
Tremulous speech is the utmost practicable crying 
upon words. 

To exhibit the engrafting of the tremor on a syl- 
lable, let the reader pronounce the word " name," 
in tremulous movement through the simple rise or 
fall, or the wave of the semitone. He will perceive 
that the tremor is made equally on the tonic, and 
each of the two subtonic elements which constitute 
the syllable. 

The tremor on the semitone may be used par- 
tially in a sentence, to mark emphatically the plain- 
tive sentiment of a single word : or it may be used 
in continuation throughout portions of discourse. 
If it is worth while to give a term to this last named 
condition of speech, it may be called the tremu- 
lous chromatic melody. The following stanza, in 
which the tremor of age is supposed to be joined 
with that of supplicating distress, may, when read 
with the coloring of dramatic action, afford a proper 
example of this melody. 

Pity the sorrows of a poor old man, 
Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door, 
Whose days are dwindled to the shortest span ; 
Ogive relief and heaven will bless your store. 

Here the tremor of the semitone may be applied 



OF THE VOICE. 321 

to every syllable capable of prolongation, which is 
the case with all except those of " pity" and " short- 
est :" but even these may with a pardonable exten- 
sion, receive it. For it must be understood, that some 
particular purposes of expression allow a breadth 
of quantity on those immutable syllables and unem- 
phatic and unaccented words which in dispassion- 
ate utterance would bear but the shortest time. 

The occasional use of the tremor of the semi- 
tone on individual words will be noticed in the fu- 
ture section on emphasis. 

When the tremulous function on the syllables of 
discourse, is made through the second, third, fifth 
or octave, or through the wave of these intervals, 
it joins the sentiment of derision, mirth, joy or ex- 
ultation to that of interrogation, surprise, command, 
or scorn conveyed by the smooth concrete of those 
intervals. In short, it is the introduction into speech 
of what is transferable in the function of laugh- 
ter ; and it adds thereto, all the meaning and force 
of its satisfaction. 

The tremor on these higher intervals is used 
principally for emphasis, as will be illustrated here- 
after : though in playful discourse, it is sometimes 
heard in continuation on more than one syllable, 
and occasionally even on short sentences. 

There is a use of this laughing tremor, if I may 
so call its execution on these intervals, which de- 
serves notice. 1 mean that hysterical exclamation 
which is heard in the higher scenes of the drama. 
In this case, the tremor seems to be subservient to 
all species of expression • for there is scarcely a 
t t 



322 0F TIIE TREMOR 

passion, whether of joy or suffering, in which it 
may not be effectively used. One can understand 
readily why this vehement expression should mark 
the excess of those feelings which are naturally 
connected with laughter : but it is not at once mani- 
fest why nature should so reverse the ordination of 
her signs, as to give the concrete tremor of the se- 
cond or higher interval, to those sentiments which 
in cases of less excitement instinctively receive 
the semitone. Let us try to explain this matter. 

The occasions on which this hysteric laugh is 
employed, are those of the highest possible inten- 
sity of distress. Now by the ordinary rule of mo- 
derate expression, the tremulous semitone should 
be used : and with this indeed the expression does 
generally begin. But as the feeling increases in 
vehemence, the mind becomes so far overruled by 
its excess as to dissever the natural association : and 
the voice, giving way to ttie mere habit of employ- 
ing the higher intervals for keen expression, leaves 
the concrete tremor of the semitone for the more 
free expansion and piercing energy of the third or 
fifth or octave. This is the reason why in hysteria, 
which is usually brought on by distress, or other 
strong emotion, the ordinary course of expression is 
averted ; and whilst the more moderate motions 
of the disease are signified by the semitonic in- 
tonation, its higher gusts are characterized by an 
idiotic laugh. On the whole, although this last 
mentioned form of expression, when under skilful 
management and taste, is often both proper and ef- 
fective, yet as it is generally accompanied with 



OF THE VOICE. 323 

considerable grimace, is a positive thing, and can 
be well heard in the remote corners of the gallery, 
it is too apt to be contrived for gathering in the 
eyes and ears of a barren audience, by actors, who 
without feeling its rarely appropriate occasions, 
are yet by accident master of its mechanical execu- 
tion. 

It requires more than common facility of voice 
to perform the tremor with precision and elegance. 
Its full efficacy and most graceful finish is accom- 
plished by giving it the greatest number of breaks 
of which the assumed interval is susceptible; by 
making the constituent tittles in fluent succession, 
with a distinct accent, with equal time and force, and 
with a ready power of ascent and descent through 
the scale. 

As the tremor may be applied to all the inter- 
vals both ascending and descending, and to their 
combination in the wave : and as these elements 
bear different kinds or various degrees of expres- 
sion, it follows, that the character of the tremor 
may appear under other modifications than those of 
joy and sorrow. For if it be set upon a downward 
interval, say of the fifth, the expression will be of 
a graver cast than when heard on a rise of the same 
extent : and on the rising second it will have less 
gaiety than belongs to the tremulous fifth or octave. 

After the preceding view of the simple intervals 
and of the tremor, the reader may be able to fore- 
see and to recognise the effect of any other detail- 
ed combinations. If with all I have said he cannot 
do this for himself, it would be to no purpose to do 



324 OF THE TREMOR OF THE VOICE. 

it for him. It is a fair office to stand prompter to a 
pausing, yet a ready comprehension : but it is a 
groaning service to be obliged to push on a fee- 
ble or unwilling intellect to the last syllable of its 
part. 



SECTION XXXII 

Of Force of Voice. 

The words loud and soft, strong and weak, are 
used in common language, to signify the variations 
of sound comprehended under the generic term at 
the head of this section. 

This subject may be set in two aspects. Force 
of voice may be applied to phrases, or to one or 
more sentences, in order to distinguish them by 
degree, from adjacent phrases or sentences in dis- 
course. It may likewise be limited to single words, 
to syllables, and to certain parts of the concrete 
movement, to distinguish them from other words 
and syllables, and from other parts of the con- 
crete, endowed with varied degrees of force. The 
detailed history of this limited application, will be 
given in the six following sections. Under the pre- 
sent head I speak transiently of it, when used on 
phrases and sentences. 

Writers on elocution, and school books on the art 
of reading, give general rules for enforcing and 
reducing the voice, on continued passages. It is 
not necessary to swell the bulk of this volume, by 
transcribing them. It may not however be useless 
to run over the process by which a philosophical 
inquiry might be conducted, for the purpose of 
reaching the principles that govern the association 



326 OF FORCE OF VOICE. 

of certain degress of force, with the circumstances 
of the speaker, or with affections of the mind. 

From the wide reach of an intense exertion of 
the voice, there is an obvious propriety in its em- 
ployment, when distance is pictured in discourse. 
The indication of nearness, on the contrary, is well 
expressed by an abatement of that intension. 

Secrecy muffles the voice against discovery: and 
doubt, whilst it leans towards a positive declaration, 
cunningly prepares the subterfuge of an undertone, 
that the impression of its possible error may be 
least exciting and durable. 

Certainty, on the other hand, in the full desire 
to be heard, distinctly assumes all the impressive- 
ness of strength. 

Anger in like manner uses force of voice, be- 
cause its charges and denials are made with a wide 
appeal, and in the sincerity of passion: and if I may 
make distinctions on this point, the same mode is 
employed in uttering those feelings which are 
blended with anger, such as: hate, ferocity and 
revenge. 

All those sentiments which are unbecoming or 
disgraceful, smother the voice to its softer degrees, 
in the desire to conceal even the voluntary utter- 
ance of them. 

Joy is loud in calling for companionship, through 
the overflowing charity of its satisfaction. 

Bodily pain, fear and terror are also strong in 
their expression: with the double intention, of 
summoning relief, and repelling the offending cause 
when it is a sentient being. For the sharpness 



OF FORCE OF VOICE. 397 

and vehemence of the full strained cry is univer- 
sally painful or appalling to the animal ear. 

In thus amusing the reader with fancies, for so 
I ought to call them, I have perhaps ventured too 
far into the vain and presumptuous doctrine of Fi- 
nal causes. But though we have therein tempo- 
rarily strayed, let us not forget the duties of phi- 
losophy: It is her office to inquire how things exist; 
the knowledge of why they so exist, must be the 
last act of favor which time will bestow. Our steps 
over the works of man may go hand in hand with the 
comprehension of their final causes : for the author 
may point out the narrow purpose of their parts. 
But the final causes of nature will be unfolded, 
only in the last recapitulating chapter of her infi- 
nite revelation. 

From this cursory notice of force, when used on 
the aggregates of words in discourse, I pass to con- 
sider in the following sections, the circumstances 
under which force or stress may be laid on single 
words or syllables, and on different parts of the ra- 
dical and vanishing concrete. It will be shown, that 
an attentive and well disciplined ear has the ability 
to perceive the different effects of stress, when set 
on the beginning, the middle and the end of the 
concrete movement, or when heard in immediate 
succession at its extremes : that force of utterance 
may be so continued throughout the concrete, as to 
alter the characteristic feebleness of the vanish : 
and that whilst the relative structure of radical and 
vanish, formerly described, remains the same, force 



328 OF FORCE OF VOICE. 

may magnify proportionally the whole of the con- 
crete. 

These functions of force are successively denom- 
inated, in the six ensuing sections — the Radical, 
the Median, the Vanishing, and the Compound 
stress, the Thorough stress and the Loud concrete. 



SECTION XXXIII. 

Of the Radical Stress. 

The Radical stress consists in the abrupt and for- 
cible emission of the voice at the beginning of the 
concrete movement. 

The Natural radical and vanish, described in the 
second section, which I here call natural, to distin- 
guish it from the other forms enumerated above, 
was indeed represented as having an initial fulness •, 
but the function of stress, now under consideration, 
is characterized by a higher degree of force and a 
more sudden explosion, in the first opening of the 
voice : whilst the subsequent vanish is carried on 
in the diminishing structure of the natural concrete. 
There are so few speakers, able to give a radical 
stress to syllabic utterance, with this momentary 
burst which I here mean to describe, that I must 
draw an illustration from the effort of coughing. It 
will be perceived that a single impulse of coughing, 
is not in all points exactly like the abrupt voice on 
syllables ; for that single impulse is a forcing out of 
almost all the breath: yet if the tonic element a-we 
be employed as the vocality of coughing, its abrupt 
opening will truly represent the function of radical 
stress when used in discourse. 

The clear and forcible radical stress can take 
place only after an interruption of the voice. It 
tt u 



330 OF THE RADICAL STRESS. 

would seem as if there was some organic occlusion 
in the larynx, by which the breath is barred and 
accumulated for the purpose of a full and' sudden 
discharge. This occlusion is most under command, 
and the explosion is most powerful, on syllables 
beginning with a tonic element, or with an abrupt 
one preceding a tonic : for in this last case, an ob- 
struction in the organs of articulation is combined 
with the function of the larynx, above supposed. 
When a syllable begins with a subtonic, or an ato- 
nic which is not abrupt, the full degree of explosion 
is not practicable, as in <c manful," " foster." If such 
words are pronounced with vehement stress, there 
is always an interruption of the voice after the ini- 
tial element, in order that the tonic may receive 
the full force of a radical explosion. This account 
may serve to explain more particularly the part 
which is performed, in intonation, by subtonic ele- 
ments, at the beginning of syllables. For it was 
said in treating of syllabication that the subtonic 
does not always make a part of the concrete move- 
ment : but if it has more than a momentary quan- 
tity, it is continued upon a line of pitch, previously 
to the opening of the succeeding tonic with a pro- 
per radical function. This is the case on most occa- 
sions, for though it is possible for a tonic to be open- 
ed so gradually, as to allow its being engrafted on a 
subtonic which has previously risen partly through 
the concrete, still there is so much of the abrupt 
fulness in the usual utterance of a tonic element, 
that it generally assumes to itself the first point in 
the interval. 



OF THE RADICAL STRESS 33 J 

If an immutable syllable beginning with a sub- 
tonic is prolonged by oratorical license, the sub- 
tonic is made to rise with a concrete movement 
through the designed interval. Thus it is with the 
words "let" and "pluck" when so prolonged: yet 
in these cases, with a view to join all the constitu- 
ents of the syllable into one impulse, the tonics 
must be given in the feeblest effort of the vanish. 
For should they be pronounced without this cau- 
tion, it will be perceived that after the initial 
subtonics have ascended, the tonics, with the sub- 
sequent atonies, if struck with force, will, in reality, 
produce another rapid immutable syllable, succeed- 
ing one which has been formed by the concrete 
ascent of the subtonic: a subtonic, as I have said, 
being susceptible of the concrete movement, both 
through a simple inflection, and through the wave. 

The power of giving a strong, full and clear ra- 
dical stress on the tonic element, is not a common 
accomplishment among speakers; yet the free and 
proper management of this function is of eminent 
importance in elocution. Its two principal purpo- 
ses are, — to give a distinct articulation: and to 
form the distinguishing accent on immutable sylla- 
bles. These syllables admitting of only a faint dis- 
play of the peculiar effect of the slow concrete, 
and being incapable^ as will be said hereafter, of 
bearing the other modes of stress-, the abrupt or 
explosive enforcement of the radical is their prin- 
cipal means for distinction. 

Having pointed out the instrumentality of the 
radical stress in the work of articulation, this is per- 



332 OF THE RADICAL STRESS. 

haps the proper place to describe particularly the 
phenomena which constitute distinct pronunciation. 

This subject has three divisions: the First em- 
braces the consideration of the specific sounds 
which the changeable decrees of human conven- 
tion give to the alphabetic elements. The Second 
regards the subject of radical stress: and the Third, 
the appropriation of the several constituent ele- 
ments of a syllable, to the concrete movement. 

The first of these matters is under the rule of 
every body, and therefore is very properly to be 
excluded from the discussions of that philosophy 
which desires to be effectual in its instruction. How 
can we hope to establish a system of elemental 
pronunciation in a language, when great masters 
in criticism, condemn at once every attempt, in so 
simple and useful a labour as the correction of its 
orthography! 

Supposing then the sound of the elements to be 
precisely that which temporary authority has de- 
term ined, the clearness of pronunciation will depend, 

Secondly, on the effective execution of the ra- 
dical stress. Although it will be said presently, 
that every element should be heard in the syllabic 
impulse, yet the tonic, from its very nature, is gene- 
rally the most remarkable in the compound. The 
characteristic of the syllable, therefore, lies in a 
great measure, within this element; and a full ex- 
plosive radical stress being laid on it, contributes 
much to distinct enunciation. It is this which draws 
the cutting edge of words across the ear, and star- 
tles, even stupor, into attention. It is this which out- 



OF THE BADICAL STJRESS. 333 

voices the motions and rustlings of an assembly, 
and lessens the fatigue of listening: and it is the 
sensibility to this, through a general instinct of the 
animal ear, which gives authority to the groom and 
makes the horse submissive to his angry accent. 
Besides the fulness, loudness and abruptness of the 
radical stress, when employed to give distinct arti- 
culation, the tonic sound itself should be a pure 
vocality. For when it is mixed with an aspiration, 
the quality of utterance loses that brilliancy, if I 
may so call it, which serves to increase the impres- 
sive effect of the explosive force. 

Thirdly. The doctrine of syllabication, set forth 
in this work, suggests additional means for effecting 
what is called distinct articulation. In order to 
ensure a clear and striking utterance, the syllable 
should not only be loud, but each elementary con- 
stituent should be so distinct as to prevent the 
possibility of confounding syllables which have the 
same tonic elements, but which differ partially or 
universally in their subtonics. Now this is to be 
done by distributing the time and space of the con- 
crete properly among the elements of the given 
syllable. This will be best explained by particular 
instances. I have heard an actor of some eminence 
pronounce the word "plain" by prolonging the voice 
on the " 1," and subsequently terminating the syl- 
lable by a momentary transit on u ain." Though in 
this case, the " P was clearly audible, the rapid 
flight and blending of the " a" and " n' rendered 
the effect of the whole syllable both faint and con- 
fused. The consequence of this kind of pronun 



334 0F THE RADICAL STKESS. 

ciation, for it was a general fault with the player to 
whom I allude, was, that if he turned his face from 
the audience whilst speaking, many of his words, 
though forcible enough in mere sound, were unin- 
telligible to an attentive ear at mean distances in 
the theatre. A practice like this obstructs the 
equable flow of the concrete, and overrules the 
proper apportionment of time to its syllabic consti- 
tuents. For if each of the elements of the word 
u plain" have an equal portion of the concrete, the 
utterance will at once be distinct. 

The principles of articulate utterance under this 
third head, may be exemplified in the following 
sentence : 

Not that I loved Ceesar less, but that I loved Rome more. 

If we give emphatic importance to the word 
"more," by the mere extent of quantity, and not 
any striking peculiarity of intonation ; and if this 
quantity be spread upon the unequal wave, with a 
view to give the feeble cadence to the dignified 
protraction of the word; — Then if, in the appor- 
tionment of the elements, the "m" be carried 
through the rise of the second, and continued 
downward for some distance through the third : the 
" o" and "r" being rapidly made at the termination 
of the wave, — under these conditions, I say, the 
word will not be well articulated. But if the time of 
the wave be divided into three parts about equal, 
and the "m," "o'' and "r" be severally assigned to 
these parts, the utterance will have all required 
distinctness. 



OF THE RADICAL STRESS. 535 

There are many immutable syllables beginning 
with a subtonic, which a reader, in the current of 
dignified utterance, is sometimes prompted to pro- 
long beyond the limit of plain lexicographal pro- 
nunciation. When this practice is assumed by ora- 
torical license, the added quantity is generally 
expended wholly on the initial subtonics. Thus if 
the syllables not, met, reek, lit, that and vig, be 
unusually prolonged, there will be less departure 
from fixed pronunciation, by giving the quantity to 
the subtonics, than to the tonics. But still there 
will be a want of that distinctness by which a syl- 
lable is immediately recognized : for syllables are 
known in part, by the habit of their quantity, both 
as regards the absolute time of the whole, and the 
comparative time of their elemental parts; and these 
points, upon the supposition before us, are widely 
varied. Now in the above instances, the time of the 
several elements, which strictly should be about 
equal, is in extreme disproportion : for whilst the 
subtonic is extended to what we have called an 
indefinite quantity, the tonic and the following ab- 
rupt element have only their proper momentary 
duration. 

And this which is here assigned as the cause of 
indistinctness in speech, will be shown, in a future 
section to be still more frequently a cause of inar- 
ticulate pronunciation in the efforts of the Singing 
voice. 

In the two cases of the words " plain" and 
" more" it is recommended to divide the time of 
the concrete equally among the elements ; and this 



336 0F TIIE RADICAL STRESS. 

is necessary for the correct pronunciation of many 
other syllables, having a similar construction. But 
we cannot give a universal rule on this point, since 
some indefinite syllables such as " men" " run" 
" lin" " gel" have their prolongation on the subto- 
nic elements, and will not bear any addition to their 
short tonics. 

The radical stress may be exhibited both on im- 
mutable and on indefinite syllables ; in the former 
case, from the shortness of the quantity, the func- 
tion produces, as it were, a mere explosive point 
of sound. 

This stress may be given to all the intervals both 
rising and falling, and to the beginning of the wave. 

From what has been said, it must not be under- 
stood that the radical stress is used merely to give 
the distinction of loudness to immutable syllables : 
the enforcement likewise extends to the various 
sentiments embraced by them. But this mode of 
stress is more particularly a symbol of the highest 
degrees of passion. 



SECTION XXXIV. 

Of the Median Stress. 

It was said, the Radical stress is principally ef- 
fective in distinguishing immutable syllables. Long 
quantities admitting of other modifications which 
may attract the ear, more rarely require the initial 
explosive fulness. They receive their stress, with 
greater embellishment, from an enforcing of utter- 
ance on the middle portion of the concrete move- 
ment. 

As a pause is always the preface to abruptness, 
the peculiar character of the radical stress, can 
have no place in the course of the continuous inter- 
val. The median stress is therefore a gradual 
strengthening and subsequent reduction of the 
voice, similar to what is called a swell in the lan- 
guage of musical expression. There is this differ- 
ence between them. The swell of song is some- 
times made on a note continued on the same line 
of pitch : whereas the median stress is always in 
either an upward or downward course; or about the 
junction of these directions in the wave. 

This element of force is applied to all the inter- 
vals of the scale : but its very construction indicates 
the necessity of protracted time for its execution, 
and therefore that it is most distinguishable on the 
greater intervals. It is obvious even on the simple 
x x 



338 OF THE MEDIAN STRESS. 

rise and fall of the second, when its syllabic quan- 
tity is unusually prolonged. But the quantity of this 
interval as well as that of the semitone is rarely 
extended to any considerable degree in its simple 
state. Those dignified sentiments which require 
length, direct the employment of the waves of 
these two intervals. But the power of the median 
stress is not thereby lost, for in this case it is ap- 
plied to about the middle of the course of the con- 
cretes : that is about the junction of the two lines 
of contrary flexure. What is here said of the wave 
of these two intervals, mav be affirmed of the wave 
of all intervals of the scale. If the median stress is 
applied to the double wave, it must be on the course 
of a downward or upward constituent, according as 
the wave may be direct or inverted ; for the two 
constituents will be respectively the middle por- 
tions of the whole space of sound. 

The median stress is applicable to the intervals 
of the tremulous scale : and in effect, only enforces 
by greater loudness, the tittles in the middle of any 
given interval, or at the junction of a single wave, 
or on the middle constituent of a double one. When 
thus employed, it adds degrees in impressiveness 
to the sentiments signified by the tremor, and fur- 
nishes variety to the ear. 

In as much as force, generally speaking, may be 
used conjointly with other means of expression ; its 
principal purpose is to enhance the power of those 
other means. Thus if the median stress is laid on 
the semitone, it gives force to its plaintiveness : if 
on the downward concrete, it adds to the degree 



OF THE MEDIAN STRESS. 339 

of its wonder or positiveness : if on the rising third 
or fifth or octave, it sharpens the spirit of interro- 
gation. Such is likewise the effect of the radical 
stress ; the energetic effort of which sometimes 
amounts even to violence. But the median stress 
now under consideration, sets forth the intension of 
the voice, in a form of greater dignity than all the 
other modes. The radical stress having an abrupt 
opening and the vanishing, as I shall say 'presently, 
having a sudden termination, there is a sharp ear- 
nestness in their manner which is not conveyed by 
the median : the aim and power of which " in the 
very torrent of expression," is to " beget a tem- 
perance which may give it smoothness." 

Here pardon me, reader, when I pass from in- 
struction to eulogy. 

If she could now be heard, 1 would point in il- 
lustration, to Britain's great Mistress of the voice. 
Since that cannot be, let those who have not for- 
gotten the stately dignity of Mrs. Siddons, bear wit- 
ness to the effect of the graceful vanish of her con- 
crete, and of that swelling energy by which she rich- 
ly enforced the tones of joy, and surprise, and indig- 
nation. But why should I be so sparing in praise, 
as to select her eminent exemplification of the sin- 
gle subject before us ; when it seems to ray recol- 
lection that a whole volume of elocution might be 
taught by her instances. 

It is apparently a partial rule of criticism, but 
when drawn from delicate perceptions, made wise 
by cultivation, it is the best — to measure the merit 
of actors, by their ability to give with audible exact- 



340 OF THE MEDIAN STRESS. 

ness, that same expression of the poet, which the 
soul of the hearer is whispering to itself. Such is 
the rule, which, in my early days of ignorance, but 
not of insensibility, set up this great Woman's voice 
as the mirror of poetic feeling ; in which one might 
recognise himself, and love the equal picture as 
his own. All that is smooth, and flexible, and vari- 
ous in intonation ; all that is impressive in force, and 
in long drawn time ; all that is apt upon the counte- 
nance, and consonant in gesture, gave their united 
energy, and gracefulness and grandeur, to this one 
great model of ideal elocution. Hers was that 
height of excellence, which, defying mimickry, 
can be made imaginable only by being equalled. 

Such was my enthusiastic opinion, before a scru- 
tiny into speech had developed a boundless scheme 
of criticism ; which at the same time that it admits, 
there may be some hidden cannon of nature, pro- 
ducing occasional instances of rare accomplishment 
of voice ; yet assures us that nothing but the in- 
fluence of some system of principles, arising out of 
well observed instinct, can ever produce multipli- 
ed examples of excellence, or give to any one the 
perfection of art. There is a power in science which 
searches, discovers, amplifies, and completes; and 
which all the strength of spontaneous effort can ne- 
ver reach. I do not wish to be asked, how this " most 
noble mother of the world,"* — with the best gifts 

* I refer here, to the salutation of Coriolanus to Volumnia : 
for it is in this character Mrs. Siddons always comes upon my 
memory ; imbodying the pathos, the matron dignity and the in- 
dignation, together with the other moral solemnities of the scene 
of intercession in the Volscian camp. 



OF THE MEDIAN STRESS. 34 1 

from nature, but still through the scanty doctrine of 
her times, restricted to the hazardous school of im- 
itation — would be accounted by the side of anoth- 
er Siddons making her selections of sentiment and 
taste, from the familiar rudiments and the measura- 
ble functions of the voice ; and able by the authori- 
ty of deep-drawn rules to be a rational critic over 
herself. Though I rely on the surpassing efficacy 
of scientific principles, still in the contentment of 
recollection, I would not wish to answer this ques- 
tion. 

The vision of the Great Actress is before me ! If 
I am beset by an illusion which another hearing 
might dispel, I rejoice to think I can never hear 
her again. 



SECTION XXXV. 

Of the Vanishing Stress. 

Our description of the concrete of speech repre- 
sented it as formed by an initial fulness, and a gra- 
dual decrease in force of voice. It may already 
have occurred to the reader, that the construction 
indicated by the term Vanishing Stress, annuls, in 
this case, the general law of the concrete. It is 
true it does. But I thought, the adopted term, even 
with this verbal contrariety, would be more imme- 
diately intelligible, if not more exactly significative 
of the function, than any other newly invented no- 
menclature. The vanishing stress does indeed ex- 
hibit a reversed progression of force, by a gradual 
increase from the radical, to the extreme of the 
vanish. This mode of production must necessarily 
give something like an abrupt termination, with a 
fulness of sound, at the extremity of the concrete : 
for the description of the case affirms its gradual 
enlargement till the end. 

The peculiar vocal effect of the vanishing stress 
may be illustrated by the natural function of Hic- 
cough. I choose this mode of making the reader 
familiar with the perception, because the function 
has received, in this instance, but without attention 
to its construction, a conventual name, and because 
it may be readily imitated for the purpose of expe- 



OF THE VANISHING STRESS. 343 

riment. The hiccough, then, is produced by the 
gradual increase of the guttural sound, until it is 
suddenly obstructed by an occluded catch, some- 
what resembling the element fc, or g, If this mode 
of sound be compared with a single act of cough- 
ing, the difference between the vanishing and the 
radical stress will be conspicuous. The hiccough, 
however, does not resemble the proper vanishing 
stress of speech in all points ; for this last function 
does not necessarily end like the hiccough, except 
the syllable which bears it is terminated by an ab- 
rupt element. The hiccough may be made on all 
intervals of the scale. In ordinary cases, it assumes 
that of the second : but if it is attended with great 
distress, as sometimes happens in disease, it is heard 
through the interval of the semitone. 

The effect of the vanishing stress in discourse, 
may be very conspicuously observed in the speech 
of the natives of Ireland, many of whom employ 
it, in the form of the simple rise or fall, or wave, 
on all the principal words of a sentence. It is this 
function which produces that quick and peculiar 
run of syllables, heard in the earnest pronunciation 
of the lower orders of that people. 

The vanishing stress is practicable on each of 
the rising and falling intervals of the scale. When 
used on the wave, it must be understood as occur- 
ring on the last constituent. 

This stress being one of the modes of force, its 
power consists in giving to the peculiar expression 
of the several intervals, a greater degree of inten- 
sion than belongs to their natural concretes. Thus 



344 OF THE VANISHING STRESS. 

in the second, which has no peculiar expression, it 
only adds that Irish jerk which deforms without en- 
forcing speech. On the third, and fifth, and octave, 
it gives intensity to the spirit of interrogation. On 
the downward course of these intervals, it enhan- 
ces the degree of surprise and positiveness ; and 
on the wave it increases the expressions which be- 
long to its various constructions. 

The effect of the vanishing stress on a semitone, 
may be heard in the act of Sobbing. This is made 
on a guttural sound gradually increasing in force 
and terminated in some cases by an occluded catch. 
Now when the vanishing stress on the semitone is 
used in discourse, it is, as it were, a sobbing on 
words •, and serves to mark intensively, the distress- 
ful character of the simple concrete. Distress and 
complaint may require enforcement, when uttered 
with that quickness of time which does not admit 
of the doubled impression of the semitone produc- 
ed by the wave of this interval. This increased 
effect may be given to the simple movement in 
quick time, by the vanishing stress; which brings 
out in high relief the dimensions of the interval, 
and the mournful display of its expression. 

Upon this subject, it may be remarked in relation 
to all the intervals, that the nature of discourse 
sometimes requires so quick a time that only the 
simple rise or fall can be employed : and yet, it 
may be highly necessary to designate a given inter- 
val strongly and clearly. This can be accomplished 
by the vanishing stress. For a hasty utterance of 
grief and interrogation, which has time for flight 



OF THE VANISHING STRESS. 345 

only in one direction, will, for the purpose of 
marking its several symbols on the ear, apply this 
terminative force to the simple rise and the fall of 
the semitone, third, fifth, and octave. 

It was stated that the radical stress is effective, 
principally in distinguishing short quantities. On 
these the vanishing stress is not cognizable. It re- 
quires a longer time ; and its application thereon, 
gives an equal degree of force with the median 
stress : but it has much less dignity and grace than 
the gradual swell of this last named element 



*y 



SECTION XXXVI. 

Of the Compound Stress. 

Besides the perceptible function of stress, when 
laid exclusively on the beginning or middle, or end 
of the concrete, it is within the power of the culti- 
vated and attentive ear, to recognize the abrupt 
opening of the radical, and the full termination of 
the vanishing stress, when used in succession on the 
same syllable. The best reference I can make in 
illustration of this element, is to the vocal grace, 
called a Shake : for I shall endeavour to show here- 
after that the characteristic action of this grace 
consists in a rapid iteration of the concrete when 
impressed with both the radical and vanishing 
stresses. 

This compound stress may be used on the nar- 
row intervals of the scale, if they are applied to 
syllables of long quantity ; but it is more definitely 
audible on the wider spaces of the fifth and octave. 
Its character may likewise be heard on the various 
forms of the wave ; in which cases the final stress 
is severally laid on the last constituents. 

After what has been said of the modes of stress, 
oNwhich this under consideration is but a compo- 
sition, it is scarcely necessary to remark, that it 
affords means for adding greater force to the repre- 
sentation of the sentiments indicated by its consti- 



OF THE COMPOUND STRESS. 347 

tuents when used singly on a syllable. And though 
the effect of the alternate radical and vanishing 
stress is beautifully exemplified in the shake of 
song ; and may be made manifest in the speaking 
voice : yet this compound function, on a short quan- 
tity, cannot be distinguished from the simple radical 
abruptness ; nor indeed is there, in this case, time 
for its existence. 

Let us suppose that a syllable of long quantity 
conveys the sentiment of angry or authoritative in- 
terrogation ; and that the fifth with protracted into- 
nation is the interval chosen for this interrogative. 
The sharpness of effort required here as the symbol 
of anger or of the authoritative sentiment would be 
rightly represented by the radical stress; whilst 
the full marked extent of the interval under the 
increased force of the vanish, would give a corres- 
ponding energy and impressiveness to the interro- 
gation. The compound stress is, however, by no 
means an agreeable mode of force. There is a snap- 
pishness in its intonation, which will always be 
avoided by a good reader, except on those rare 
occasions, that especially call for the peculiarity of 
its expression. 



SECTION XXXVIL 

Of the Thorough Stress. 

By this mode of force in the construction of the 
concrete, we are to understand, a continuation of 
the same full body of voice throughout its whole 
course. 

It may be readily distinguished from the median, 
the vanishing and the compound forms of stress, 
when these are set on long quantities, and may 
therefore claim a separate notice in a philosophical 
analysis of speech. But I cannot point out any 
peculiar expression in it, which is not conveyed 
by the compound stress, or by the radical when 
applied on short syllables. 

This Thorough force may be given to all the 
intervals of the scale ; and when spread over the 
wave, it is to be regarded as equalizing the stress 
throughout all its constituents. 



SECTION XXXVIII 

Of the Loud Concrete. 

By the Loud concrete, I mean that stress which 
distinguishes a given syllable from adjacent ones : 
the parts of the concrete still retaining the compa- 
rative structure of the radical and vanishing move- 
ment. It is, in short, what was called the natural 
concrete, magnified by force. It is not distinguish- 
able as an element of stress, on a very short quan- 
tity : the radical stress being the proper mode of 
intension on such syllables. 

As far as I know, it has no peculiar quality of 
expression. It is introduced here, only because it 
will be referred to, in a future section, on accent. 

All the modes of stress which have thus been 
enumerated, may be applied to the various tremu- 
lous concretes, and to the tremulous wave. They 
give energy and variety to the tremor on the high- 
er intervals, which serves for laughter, for interro- 
gation, and for emphasis : and to Ihe tremor on the 
semitone, which makes the function of crying, and 
of plamtiveness in speech. 



SECTION XXXIX. 

Of the Time of the Concrete, 

The radical and vanishing movement has been 
represented as having an equable continuation of 
time, throughout its progress : and as having there- 
by a marked distinction from the varied proportions 
of the radical and vanish, in Recitative and Song. 

The purposes of expression sometimes demand 
a change of this equability of the concrete, into a 
quicker utterance of its beginning, or middle, or 
end. This condition of time is closely connected 
with the application of the different modes of stress: 
for it is difficult to give stress without running into 
quickness of time ; and it is as difficult to give quick- 
ness of time, without marking the rapid part of the 
concrete with stress. The connate relation of these 
functions is most conspicuous in the radical stress : 
for its sudden burst is necessarily followed by a 
momentary quickness of utterance. The median 
and the vanishing stress, when strongly emphatic, 
likewise carry with them a rapid run of time : for 
there is in this forcible execution of these last 
named functions, an endeavour to reach, as far as 
can be on an unbroken concrete, the explosive na- 
ture of the radical. These fitful gusts of breath, if 
I may so call the quick transit through the radical 
median and vanishing places, may be employed. 



OF THE TIME OF THE CONCRETE. 35 [ 

like the stress itself which respectively accompa- 
nies them, on all the intervals of the scale, and at 
the same places of the wave on which the stress is 
applied. There may also be a compound quick 
time of the concrete, attendant on the compound 
stress, in the prolonged movements of speech. 

On the whole, regarding the time of the concrete 
separately from stress, I cannot recommend it as a 
matter of any importance in the work of expression. 
I promised to analyze speech. This quickness was 
perceived \ and I have therefore transiently noticed 
it. 



SECTION XL. 

Of the Aspiration, 

We have thus far learned that five accidents 
of sound, — Quality, Time, Pitch, Abruptness and 
Force, together with the absence of all impression 
in the Pause, do by their separate and their min- 
gled influences produce the varied efforts of speech 
already described. 

The works of nature are cunning patterns of 
combination : and the function which is now to be 
considered, will make a new disclosure of the 
means of diversifying the effect of these elementary 
agents. The subject of this section does properly 
belong to the head of quality of voice. But since 
it has received a place and name among the alpha- 
betic elements, and has peculiar properties, I give 
it here a separate discussion. I shall therefore en- 
deavour to show that the element symbolized by 
the letter " h," or as it is called the Aspiration, has 
eminent powers of force and exprsesion. 

By calling " h" a mere breathing, some system- 
atic writers have imagined they insured the right 
to reject this element from the alphabet. Let it be 
said, in truth, that the aspiration is suited only to 
near audience ; and wants the fine vocal qualities 
of the tonics. But whilst " harrow" and " arrow" 
shall owe the difference of their meanings re- 



OF THE ASPIRATION. 353 

spectively to the presence and absence of the ele- 
ment, that breathing will fulfil the purpose of ar- 
ticulation, though it should not conform to the full 
definition of it. Notwithstanding, the defects of the 
aspiration cannot be denied, under the cold mea- 
surement of orthoepy, it is still pre-eminently enti- 
tled to notice as a powerful agent in oratorical ex- 
pression. 

The element " h" is slightly susceptible of pitch 
and abruptness : but it admits freely of time. 
Through the exercise of this function it must be re- 
deemed from an alleged insignificance, by furnish- 
ing the expressive interjection of sighing. It admits, 
to a certain degree, of the variations of force ; exhib- 
iting most remarkably, under the calls of emphasis, 
the median stress. In uncompounded words it is al- 
most exclusively found at their beginning ; where 
its force may be most effectually exerted. This 
element is frequently a constituent of those words 
which have universally an energetic meaning, as 
" havoc,'' " horror" and huzza ;" and it exists in 
most of the interjections in all languages. 

Besides the abovementioned instances of its ex- 
pression, where common orthography has given it 
a literal place, it is in certain cases of emphasis en- 
grafted on the several tonics and subtonics. For 
though the aspiration, as we have seen, does serve 
the purpose of a distinct constituent of words ; yet 
it may be associated with each of those elements 
which have a vocality, without destroying their in- 
dividual characters. The pure quality of the tonic 
is indeed impaired by the union ; for the excellency 
z z 



354 0F THE ASPIRATION. 

of this species of element was negatively defined, 
by declaring its freedom from aspiration : but the 
loss of purity is supplied by other advantages of 
the association. 

There is some inexplicable mechanism of the 
organs of speech, by which a strenuous pronuncia- 
tion of the tonic elements becomes semi-aspirated. 
If we suppose the word " horrible" to be deprived 
of its aspirate, it will be found impossible to give 
the fragment " orrible," in prolonged and energetic 
exclamation, without restoring, in a great degree, 
the abstracted element. How far this unavoidable 
function operated to introduce the aspirated ele- 
ment, for the expression of the force of instinctive 
animal feeling, which may have prevailed at what 
is called, the origin of language, I leave to the ever- 
lasting disputes of those who look for truth in fancy, 
and who tease themselves in the pursuit of undis- 
coverable things. 

Vociferations on syllables which do not ortho- 
graphically contain the aspiration, nevertheless as- 
sume it, and corrupt thereby that pure quality of 
the tonics which characterizes their abated utter- 
ance. Nay, in the excessive force of such exertions 
of the organs, the voice is sometimes lost, from the 
atonic aspiration overruling the tonic vocality. The 
nature of the conjoined functions, thus exhibited in 
the vehement force of the voice, may be illustrated 
by the subtonics a y" and " w" which are respec- 
tively a compound of the aspiration with the mono- 
thongs " ee-1" and oo-ze." The other three mono- 
thongs " e-rr" " e-nd" " t-n," when united with the 



OF THE ASPIRATION, 355 

aspiration, become obscurely the basis of the several 
other subtonics. And though the subtonics are thus 
supposed to be, in a manner, formed by the mingling 
of vocalities with aspiration, they are yet capable 
of a further addition, for the purposes of force or 
oratorical expression. 

The diphthongal tonics do not receive the aspira- 
tion with the same effect as the monothongs : since 
there is something in the nature of the diphthongs 
which prevents as great a change as takes place in 
the monothongs, by their union with the aspiration. 
I said that the aspiration in its simple state, had 
a certain degree of pitch. In union with the tonics, 
it is able to move through all the intervals of the 
scale, and to take on all the forms of stress. 

In order to show how far this element assists in 
the operations of speech let us keep in mind what 
was said above, on the spontaneous connexion be- 
tween a vehement exertion of the voice and its aspi- 
ration ; and consider, further, the two following 
forms of expression. 

There is a sort of facetious or contemptuous com- 
ment of surprise and incredulity, consisting of an 
effort of aspiration made by the tongue and lips, 
like whistling j and which has all its qualities ex- 
cept shrillness. The pitch of this aspirated move- 
ment is that of an unequal direct wave : the first 
constituent being a tone or higher interval, accord- 
ing to the spirit of the expression ; and the second 
being generally a descent to the utmost audible 
place of the aspiration. 

The other effort of aspiration to which I alluded, 



356 OF THE ASPIRATION. 

is made by the larynx, without any designed con- 
junction of the lips and tongue. It is the function 
of Sighing : and its pitch is sometimes the simple 
rising, but more frequently the falling concrete 
through a second or wider interval according to 
the intensity of the feeling which prompts it. This 
is well known to be the symbol of distress, grief 
and anxiety ; and of exhaustion and fatigue, both of 
mind and body. Now since these different cases 
include the general powers of expression, in the 
simple and natural aspiration, we can therefrom 
infer what will be the effect when this breathed 
element is joined with the vocality of speech. 

It may seem an exception to the consistencies of 
nature, that a qualit} 7 of voice, which, under the 
form of whisper, is the symbol of the desire of con- 
cealment, should be found united with the most for- 
cible exertion of the organs. Such, however, is the 
fact 5 for when the aspiration is conjoined with loud- 
ness of voice, in some of the vehement modes of 
stress, it becomes the sign of the highest vocal vi- 
olence. If, therefore, this union is set on any of the 
rising or falling intervals of the scale, it gives an in- 
crease to the power which belongs to the chosen in- 
terval ; and if I do not mistake, adds the sentiment 
of eagerness, or sneer to those intonations, which, 
in their purely vocal form, severally convey sur- 
prise, interrogation, irony, and command. 

Should this aspiration be given with an abate- 
ment of voice, approximating thereby towards the 
whisper or the sigh, it produces a different expres- 
sion, according to the extent of the interval, When 



OF THE ASPIRATION. 357 

the second, or higher portion of the scale is em- 
ployed, it becomes the eminent symbol of earnest- 
ness or of apprehension. Thus, if the following 
lines be pronounced with a pure vocality of the el- 
ements, the expression will fall short of the feel- 
ing of the speaker : 

" Hah ! dost thou not see, by the moon's trembling light, 
Directing his steps, where advances a knight. 
His eye big with vengeance and fate ? 

Nor would the point be gained, if the reading 
should be characterized by an aspirated vociferation. 
But if the utterance is reduced in force, and at the 
same time aspirated, the earnestness of attention 
and appealing interrogation, becomes immediate- 
ly obvious in this created huskiness of voice. 

When this abated voice is aspirated on the tremu- 
lous movement of the second or higher interval, it 
may convey the sentiment of fear. When this same 
abatement is aspirated in the simple concrete or 
wave of the semitone, it is, as it were, a borrow- 
ing from the sigh ; and therefore adds the higher 
coloring of its expression to the plaintiveness or 
the distress which is borne by the simple vocality 
of the semitonic movement. But when the tremu- 
lous intonation is joined with the aspirated semi- 
tone, the voice exerts its ultimate means for mark- 
ing the deepest sadness, within the limits of crying 
and tears. 

It is this element especially, which carries the 
sentiment of contempt : and hence the ability to 
imbne nearly every interval of intonation with its 
expression. Even the simple movements which in- 



358 OF THE ASPIRATION 7 . 

dicate surprise, interrogation, and emphatic asser- 
tion, may, by means of the aspiration, be made con- 
temptuous: but the repulsive sentiment is more 
strongly marked when applied to the forms of the 
wave 5 the bearing of scorn being most conspicuous 
on its unequal structure. 



SECTION XLL 

Of the Emphatic Vocule. 

In that section where the elements are enume- 
rated, we learned, that when the occlusion of or- 
gans, by which the abrupt elements are made, 
is removed, there is a slight issue of voice which 
completes the articulate structure of these sounds. 
This slight voice was called the Vocule. Like all 
other voices it is susceptible of force. Its higher 
degrees of stress constitute the element named at 
the head of this section. The emphatic vocule 
marks great energy of sentiment : and naturally fol- 
lows those emphatic words which close with one of 
the abrupt elements. 

Three of the vocules are vocal, and three aspi- 
rated. The vocules of " k" " p" and " t," which 
constitute the last class, are often changed from an 
aspiration to vocality, in an attempt to give strong- 
er emphasis to their termination. No other than 
the most vehement feeling will justify the use of 
this element of force, at the end of an emphatic 
word •, and the most cautious management is neces- 
sary in order to prevent the expression from fall- 
ing into the character of rant or affectation. 

It was stated formerly that when an abrupt ele- 
ment precedes a tonic, the vocule is lost in the to- 
nic, which issues, as it were, from the abrupt element; 



3(30 OF THE EMPHATIC VOCULE. 

this last being only a mode of the commencement 
of that tonic sound. This is the case when an ab- 
rupt element is found about the beginning of a 
word ; and at the end of any syllable except the ul- 
timate. And in these places it is proper. But a 
similar junction of the vocule at the termination of 
a word, with a tonic at the beginning of a following 
syllable, is apt to confuse pronunciation, by destroy- 
ing that clear limit which should give a separated 
individuality to every word of a sentence. The 
fault to which I allude, is sometimes even design- 
edly assumed in enunciation, in order to remedy 
the want of physical energy in another particular 
of utterance. Persons who are called upon to give 
the utmost sharpness to their accents, and who have 
not the practical skill to explode the voice sudden- 
ly on a tonic, avail themselves of the facility of 
bursting out from an abrupt element, into the tonic 
of a succeeding word. Thus if the phrase " bad 
angels," should require force, either for emphasis 
or for a distant auditory, it would, with a view to 
this explosion be pronounced " bad-dangels." But 
as the arrangement of elements is a casual thing, 
it must happen that the same word will occur in 
discourse, both with and without a preceding ab- 
rupt element : and besides, the common exertion of 
force does not require this coalescence. These cir- 
cumstances will prevent the effect of the junc- 
tion from becoming familiar to the ear, and thus pass- 
ing for a proper and constant orthoepial charac- 
ter of the word. A forcible pronunciation accord- 
ing to this method, will, therefore, in some cases, 



OF THE EMPHATIC VOCULE. 361 

create mistakes in the sound of words ; and lead 
in most instances, to that momentary hesitation, 
which is incompatible with an exact perception of 
oral discourse. 

If what has been said, on the subject of distinct 
articulation, as effected by the full and clearly form- 
ed radical stress, be thoroughly applied, the design- 
ed purpose of this junction of tonic with abrupt el- 
ements may be accomplished without interfering 
with the perception of a clear outline in the boun- 
dary of words. For this demarcation is necessary 
towards that distinct and deliberate utterance which 
characterizes the dignified departments of an exalt- 
ed elocution. 

In the rapid energy of colloquial discourse, and 
in the passionate haste of elevated delivery, this 
coalescence of the elements is more liable to occur: 
nor in these instances can it always be avoided. 



3 A 



SECTION XLIL 

Of the Guttural Emphasis. 

In speaking of the mechanism of the voice, it 
was shown that the retraction of the root of the 
tongue, together with a closure of the pharynx, 
produces a contact of the sides of the vocal canal 
above the glottis, and thus gives rise to a harsh vi- 
bration, from the gush of air through the straitened 
passage. The peculiar sound alluded to, is made 
on the tonic elements, the varieties of which may- 
be distinguished, notwithstanding their combina- 
tion with the noise, produced by the compression 
of the sides of the throat. I have called this func- 
tion of the voice, the Guttural emphasis, on account 
of its causal mechanism, and from its being a forcible 
expression of the sentiment which dictates it. 

This guttural element is practicable on all the 
intervals of the scale : and it adds to their formerly 
described characters, its own peculiar expression. 
This expression consists in the strongest degree of 
contempt, disgust, aversion or execration; and 
these sentiments are most strongly marked on the 
intonations of the wave. 

When this guttural grating is given with the 
exploded radical stress, it makes the speaker him- 
self feel, in its disruption from his organs, that the 
effect must spread widely around him : and whilst 



OF THE GUTTURAL EMPHASIS. 3^3 

it assaults the air with its percussion, that it must 
break through the ear, into the understanding and 
heart of an audience. 



Having thus described the particular species into 
which the generic affections of Pitch and Force are 
subdivided : and having pointed out some of the oc- 
casions for their application in speech, we are now 
prepared to consider the special points of these func- 
tions, which are comprehended under the terms 
Accent and Emphasis. This detail will form the 
subjects of the two following sections. 



SECTION XLIII. 

Of Jlccent. 

Accent is defined in philology, to be the distin- 
guishing of one syllable of a word from others, by 
the application of a greater force of voice upon it. 
This is a true, but limited account of accent : for it 
will be found on analysis that the accentual charac- 
teristic consists in a syllable being brought under 
the special notice of the ear. This may be done by 
force \ but it will be shown presently that it may 
be likewise effected through other audible means. 

No word when uttered singly, except it be in el- 
iptical construction, conveys any intelligible mean- 
ing. Accent, which is one of the qualities of individu- 
al words, cannot therefore embrace what is properly 
called expression. When the conspicuousness of a 
syllable, whether made by force or other means, 
carries with it a remarkable meaning or a feeling, 
it constitutes the function called Emphasis. 

If the difference, thus stated, between accent 
and emphasis is accurately pointed out, accent may 
be defined in general terms, to be the inexpressive 
distinction made between the syllables of a word. 
This simply audible prominence may be given to 
syllables by the radical stress, the loud concrete, 
and a longer quantity on the noted syllable. 



OF ACCENT. 365 

In the first place. The radical stress constitutes the 
accent on immutable syllables. The word u victo- 
ry," has three short syllables, and the accent on the 
first consists of this mode of stress : the brevity of 
the syllable not admitting the perception of a con- 
tinuation of loudness. If therefore any distinction is 
to be made by force, the syllable must burst with 
the requisite fulness into a momentary existence. 
The accent may be transferred to either of the 
other syllables, by giving the highest degree of 
abruptness respectively to each. 

Secondly. Syllables which have length sufficient 
to render the radical and vanishing movement cog- 
nizable, admit of accentual distinction by the loud 
concrete. In the word "Padington, ' the three sylla- 
bles are of moderate length, and about equal. As 
the first has quantity sufficient to prevent the ne- 
cessity of adopting the explosive radical stress, its 
audible relief in pronunciation can be brought out 
by the loud concrete alone. In this example the 
accent may be easily transferred to either of the 
other syllables, by a slight increase of force : and 
it is to be remarked, of syllables to which the loud 
concrete is applicable, that they readily receive at 
the same time an addition of the radical stress. But 
the former mode of distinction being adequate to 
the inexpressive denoting of accent, there is no 
call for the further help of the radical abruptness, 
except on occasions which require the expressive 
distinction of emphasis. 

Thirdly. When the time or quantity of one 
syllable of a word exceeds the rest, that syllable 



366 OF ACCENT. 

readily receives the accent, and even when unas- 
sisted by loudness or abruptness sometimes neces- 
sarily assumes it. If the word " victory" be pro- 
nounced with the usual degree of radical stress, on 
the first syllable, and the second be subsequently 
prolonged as if written " vic-Joe-ry, the distinguish- 
ing impression of the accent, which in this case may 
be called the Temporal accent, will be postponed to 
that second syllable; even though it be uttered with 
all comparative feebleness, and with all possible 
omission of abruptness. Words which consist of 
syllables of equal time, such as a needful," " em- 
pire," " farewell" and " amen," easily undergo a 
change of accent, merely by a slight addition to the 
length of either syllable. When the word "heaven" 
is pronounced correctly as if written " hev-vn," the 
longer quantity of the first syllable assumes the ac- 
cent -j but when divided improperly, into two equal 
syllables as in u hev-ven," the place of the accent 
is doubtful ; or the word may be said to have two 
equal accents. 

These are the three modes of accentual distinc- 
tion : accent being the prominent and fixed feature 
which serves to identify a word, without enliven- 
ing its utterance by any peculiar sense or expres- 
sion. Now as these means are sufficient to give an 
importance to syllables, without adding to them any 
particular meaning or feeling, which is the scope 
of emphasis, we may see the line of separation 
between these functions. It is true that emphasis 
which employs all the elements of expression, can- 
not exist without accent; for these significant and 



OF ACCENT. 367 

expressive elements, have, through pitch and time 
and stress, an alluringness to the ear, which consti- 
tutes the defined character of accent. 

I have pointed out only the radical stress and the 
loud concrete as the causes of accent, derivative 
from force, since the median, the vanishing, the com- 
pound, and the thorough, are more commonly used 
as the means of expressive stress : and in the plain 
example of a single word, surely no one does em- 
ploy these last named elements. It is proper to re- 
mark further, that although the modes of accent 
have been represented as independent of pitch, still 
they do not exclude the mere inexpressive forms of 
that accident of the voice. Thus the radical stress 
and the loud concrete do move rapidly through a 
tone : and the temporal distinction of plain accent 
when very remarkable, generally takes the form of 
the direct or inverted wave of the same interval. 
For this, as was shown in its proper place, gives 
dignity to utterance by means of its deliberate 
movement ; but has no peculiar expression incom- 
patible with the simple diatonic melody. 

Since it appears that the use of the three modes 
of accent, is in a considerable degree governed by 
the time of syllables, it is desirable to know the 
circumstances which render these modes severally 
applicable ; make them easily changeable ; and fix 
the preponderance of their influence. 

The temporal qualities of syllables were arrang- 
ed under three classes. — The immutable, mutable, 
and indefinite. The radical stress is the means of 
distinguishing immutable syllables. The loud con- 



308 OF ACCENT. 

crete may be given to the mutable : since they have 
sufficient length to exhibit force of voice without 
the necessity of an abrupt explosion. Indefinite 
syllables, by their capability of prolongation, admit 
of the attractive distinction of the temporal accent. 
In speaking of the time of syllables, it was said 
that those of indefinite quantity are sometimes pro- 
nounced equally short with the immutable. Thus, 
" lo," in " loquacity," and " lo" used as an emphatic 
interjection, exemplify the extremes of duration. 
Now it follows from this, that the radical stress may 
sometimes be used on an indefinite syllable, in 
its shortest time : as it is in the accent of the word 
" illative." 

In some words, consisting of a long and a short 
syllable, the accent of stress and of quantity readi- ' 
ly give way to each other, at the option of utter- 
ance. Thus in the noun " perfume," the length of 
the last syllable yields to the stress on the first, But 
in the verb " perfume," the stress as easily gives 
way to the temporal accent on " fume." 

Of all the modes by which one accented syllable 
of a word is embossed upon the ear, if I may so 
speak, in higher relief than others, the most com- 
mon is that of the temporal impression. I mean, 
that in the English language, the accented syllable 
in words is generally the longest ; and the excess 
of length alone, without any apparent radical ab- 
ruptness, or increase of force on the whole concrete,, 
above the neighbouring syllables, is sufficient to an- 
swer all the purposes of accentual distinction. The 



OF ACCENT. 369 

majority of writers, without sufficient examination, 
have resolved all accents into excess of force. 

In as much as the radical accent belongs to short 
syllables ; and as the loud concrete may be arbitra- 
rily applied on all but short syllables, it may be in- 
quired — which of the modes has the most influence 
in pronunciation, or has the controlling or exclud- 
ing power. In most words, this overbearing pow- 
er is readily mutable, by an increased application 
of the qualities which distinguish each mode : as in 
the words " commemoration," " perlieu/ 1 " Cordo- 
va," " Ontario;" the accent, of whatever kind, being 
in these instances as easily practicable on one syl- 
lable as on another. But in words having such a 
temporal arrangement as occurs in " beguile,'' " in- 
deed," "delay," and " revenge," the temporal ac- 
cent cannot be deprived of its supremacy, by a 
radical stress on the first syllable, except through 
an irksome effort of the organs in exploding the 
first, and abbreviating the last. For it is sometimes 
necessary to reduce the quantity of one syllable, 
in order that the radical stress may take the lead 
on another. The accent of the word " Emanuel," 
lies in the quantity of the second syllable. There 
is scarcely any force of abruptness can transfer the 
accent to " e," whilst " man," retains its length. 
If this be shortened, the first syllable " e," may, 
through a strong radical stress, be made the lead- 
ing accent ; but the word wills carcely be recognis- 
ed in the change. 

In regarding the circumstances of accent, it ought 
to be borne in mind that the difference in kind of 
3 B 



370 0F ACCENT. 

the elementary sounds, may, in some cases, be mis= 
taken for a difference in force ; since to many an 
ear, ee-l and a-le might seem to be surpassed by ou-r 
and a-we. 

It is also to be remarked, that there are differ- 
ent degrees of susceptibility among the elements, 
in receiving the accentual quality. The tonics most 
easily and conspicuously take on each of the three 
modes of accent. The abrupt elements assist the 
explosive effort of the tonics ; but are utterly inca- 
pable of the loud concrete, and the temporal ac- 
cent. The subtonics have little or no power, in the 
radical stress ; but accomplish all the purposes of 
quantity. And the atonies are feeble instruments 
of the accentual distinction, whether its aim be at 
time or stress. 

The impressive agency of accent on the ear, is 
fixed by the orthoepy of the English language, on 
one or two of the syllables of all words with more 
than one syllable. It is a great source of variety 
in speech ; is the principal instrument of our ver- 
sification ; and when skilfully disposed, by the ad- 
justment of a delicate ear, produces, with the as- 
sistance of quantity, the delightful rhythmus of har- 
monious prose. 

Some grammarians and rhetoricians, with whom 
the intelligent Mr. Sheridan is to be ranked, have 
set forth a rule, that when the accent falls on a con- 
sonant, the syllable is short : and long when on a 
vowel. Whilst I was at school, I could not under- 
stand this great prosodial principle : now, I per- 
ceive it has no meaning. For if accent be various- 



OF ACCENT. 371 

produced by radical stress, the loud concrete, 
and by quantity, a distinction of literal place can- 
not give the variety which the rule supposes. The 
abrupt stress will always be made on a tonic (or 
vowel) notwithstanding the syllable may be open- 
ed on a preceding subtonic or abrupt element. The 
loud concrete must be made on all the elements of 
the syllable without distinction : and the accentual 
impression by quantity must consist of the united 
time of tonics and subtonics when the syllable is 
constructed with these different elements. But all 
this is only a denial of the truth of the rule, on the 
grounds of the phenomena of accent, which have 
been pointed out in this section. Let us see how 
the principle corresponds with the fact of pronun- 
ciation. In the word <c action," the abrupt stress is 
on a vowel, (tonic) and yet the syllable is short : 
and in the word " revenge,'' the greatest impres- 
sion is from subtonics (consonants,) and yet the syl- 
lable is long. The history of the error may proba- 
bly be this — writers knowing that loudness of voice 
would attract the ear, supposed that where a syl- 
lable was pre-eminently heard, it must be through 
the means of greater stress. And without noticing 
the fact, that duration in syllables may equally draw 
attention, with excess of force, they ascribed the 
length to the accent, instead of observing that the 
length alone of the syllable might produce that ef- 
fect in utterance which we call accent. 

Mr. Walker has given a theory of accent, in 
which he makes it dependent on his inflections, or 
the Greek and Roman indefinitely described rise 



372 0F ACCENT. 

and fall of the voice. If the preceding history of 
intonation is true, and if it has been clearly com- 
prehended, the reader must at once conclude that 
the functions of sound which produce the impres- 
sions called accent, have no fixed relationship to a 
rise of the voice or to its fall : for they may be made 
with every essential characteristic under these two 
conditions of movement; their junction into the 
wave j and under all the changeable phrases of me- 
lody. 

Much has been said by authors on the subject of 
accent. But I began this analysis of the human 
voice, with a resolution to speak after nature ; not 
after men. If therefore the reader is desirous to 
know the opinions of others, he may obtain them, 
with a due obligation to the books in which they 
are recorded. 



SECTION XLIV 

Of Emphasis. 



That function which Rhetoricians call Empha- 
sis, is defined to be — a stress of voice on one or 
more words of a sentence, distinguishing them by 
intensity or peculiarity of meaning. Some writers, 
without seeming to care much about the point, in- 
definitely attribute to emphasis, a characteristic 
intonation : and Mr. Walker imagined he specified 
this idea of tone throughout all its conditions, when 
he made an erroneous application of the upward 
and downward slide, described by Aristoxenus. 

But authority aside ; let us try to do something 
to the purpose, by observing the thing. 

It was stated that accent is the fixed but inex- 
pressive distinction of syllables by quantity and 
stress : alike both in place and nature, whether the 
words are pronounced singly from the columns of a 
vocabulary, or connectedly in the series of dis- 
course. 

Emphasis may be defined to be the expressive 
but occasional distinction of the syllables of words, 
and consequently of the words themselves, by quan- 
tity, quality, each of the modes of stress and each 
of the modes of intonation. 



374 0F EMPHASIS. 

This notable function belongs essentially to the 
current of discourse ; but it may be employed on 
solitary interjections and on single words which 
stand as eliptical sentences. It will appear hereaf- 
ter, that emphasis is no more than a generic term, 
including the specific denomination of the particu- 
lar uses of every accident of the voice : for it will 
be found that there is no audible effort of the voice 
which is not used as the symbol for emphatic 
thoughts and sentiments. 

The conditions of sound which constitute accent, 
being included among the enumerated causes of 
emphatic distinction, it may be inferred, that in 
these particulars, accent and emphasis cannot differ 
from each other. The quantity, radical stress and 
loud concrete, employed as the means of emphasis, 
have indeed the same elemental nature, as in ac- 
centual agency, but their purposes in the former 
case invest them all with that higher degree of their 
special qualities, which gives them the character 
of emphasis. 

For a detailed account of the particular occasions 
of emphasis the reader is referred to libraries. They 
contain many rhetorical works, setting forth this 
part of the subject, with comprehensiveness, per- 
spicuity and taste. It is the aim of this essay rather 
to point out and to measure the vocal material of 
emphasis. 

Emphasis as was stated above, produces its effect 
upon the ear, by means of the quality and time of 
sound, the modes of stress and the varied interval? 



OF THE RADICAL EMPHASIS. 375 

of intonation. The particular enumeration of these 
means will be given under the following heads. 

Of the Radical Emphasis. 

When an immutable syllable bears the accent of 
a word which is remarkable by sense, sentiment or 
antithesis, the audible distinction can be made only 
in three ways : by quality of voice ; a wide change 
in the phrase of melody ; and the abrupt enforce- 
ment of the radical stress. The two former modes 
of emphasis on short syllables, will be noticed in 
their proper places. The last is here illustrated. 

And with perpetual inroads to alarm, 
Though inaccessible, his fatal throne; 
Which, if not victory, is yet revenge. 

If the strongly contrasted feature of the word vic- 
tory, is not represented by guttural emphasis, or as- 
piration, or any other available quality; or if it does 
not receive the peculiar coloring, effected by a 
change of radical pitch upward or downward 
through the skip of a third, fifth, or octave — If, I 
say, these are not used, the syllable " vie" must be 
raised into importance by means of the sharp radi- 
cal stress : at least no other can be operative whilst 
the syllable is limited to its natural quantity. 

It is true, even an immutable time, as formerly 
said, may be carried rapidly through any interval 
of the scale ; still if this rapid movement is not join- 
ed with the radical change, it does not deserve to 
be taken into account in this case. 

Although the radical distinction is here spoken 



376 0F THE MEDIAN EMPHASIS. 

of as applicable to immutable syllables : it is plain 
from its nature, that it may be laid on those of in- 
definite time. But since these admit of the more 
agreeable modes derived from intonation, they less 
frequently require the strong explosion of the ra- 
dical. 

This emphasis is the symbol of sentiments of 
anger, violence, and their relatives ; and is the 
common mode of enforcement, whatever is the time 
of the syllable, when the spirit of discourse directs 
a rapid utterance. 

Of the Median Emphasis. 

The prominent display of the sense of a word, 
by a gradual increase and subsequent diminution 
of voice, can be effected only on syllables of inde- 
finite time. It gives an importance equal to that 
of the radical stress, but it exhibits the element of 
force in an aspect of greater smoothness, dignity 
and grace. In the following sentence, the word 
" sole" contains a sentiment of warm and serious 
admiration, which is finely set forth by means of 
this emphasis. 

Wonder not sov'reign Mistress, if perhaps 
Thou canst, who art sole wonder! 

Though the median mode of force may be exe- 
cuted on the simple rise and fall of intervals, when 
considerably protracted, yet it is most frequently 
made on the wave. In the present case the into- 
nation of the word " sole" is through the wave of 
the second \ the swell being at the junction of its 
two constituents. 



OF THE VANISHING EMPHASIS. 377 

The reader will please to bear in mind, that in 
assigning the mode of reading, in this passage, as 
well as in those which will be cited in illustration 
of all other modes of emphasis, I have been, and 
shall be governed by the principles of elocution 
laid down in this volume : for if these examples be 
read in any of those various ways which result from 
spontaneous and presumptuous endeavour in this 
art, I shall in all probability be misunderstood. On 
this ground I would allot to the lines above quoted, 
that plain and respectful character which arises from 
the utterance of protracted quantities in the diato- 
nic melody •, giving to the emphatic syllable the 
importance of greater time ; and smoothly enhanc- 
ing it by the swell of the median stress. 

Of the Vanishing Emphasis. 

The words which bear this mode of stress are 
characterized by a degree of violence, nearly equal 
to that which was said to belong to the radical em- 
phasis. Why then are they distinguished from each 
other by name? The radical is perceptible on im- 
mutable syllables ; the vanishing cannot be recog- 
nised upon them. Some extent of quantity is re- 
quired for its display : and though the sentiment of 
quick energy, which prompts it, generally appro- 
priates it to a simple concrete, of that duration 
which is just sufficient for its production, still it is 
sometimes, effectively made on the utmost prolon- 
gation of the single movement or the wave. 

In the following examples this inversion of the 
natural concrete, may be employed as the symbol 
3 c 



378 OF THE COMPOUND EMPHASIS. 

of the ardor of impatience, and of threatning re- 
venge. 

Oh ye Gods J ye Gods! must I endure all this ? 



Oh ! that I had him, 
With six Aufidiuses, or more, his tribe, 
To use my lawful sword. 

If the words here marked in italics, be read in 
the manner contemplated by me, they will be heard 
in that Irish provincialism, which was said to char- 
acterize in a degree, this species of intonation. 

This vanishing force, is perhaps often used for 
the hasty energy of a question. For since the wider 
spaces of the scale are the symbols of interrogation, 
the reach of the interval is more clearly impressed 
by the full and emphatic boundary, than by the 
feebler attraction of the natural vanish. 

Perhaps the reason of the expression of the van- 
ishing emphasis, may be found in this, — From the 
ordinary habit of the voice in the concrete, it is 
difficult to execute its final fulness and force, with- 
out giving a rapidity of time which adapts it to the 
active sentiment, it is here employed to represent. 

Of the Compound Emphasis. 

A degree of emphatic distinction by stress, 
stronger than any of the preceding modes may be 
appointed to syllables of indefinite time, which be- 
gin with a tonic element. Such a syllable under 
the direction of vehement feeling, may receive its 
force from both the radical and vanishing stress: as 
in the following urgent call. 



OF THE THOROUGH EMPHASIS. 379 

Arm warriors arm for fight, the foe at hand, 
Whom fled we thought, will save us long pursuit 
This day. 

The words here marked in italics are exempli- 
fied as cases of this double element of stress. It is 
however more particularly appropriate to the vio- 
lence of interrogative sentiments. In the thirty- 
sixth section I gave the reason for this; and I have 
here only to cite an occasion for its use. 

Here is your husband like a mildewed ear 
Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes? 

The intense spirit of this short question, requires 
the Thorough intonation : and the emphatic im- 
portance of the last word, leads the voice to impress 
upon its radical the force of contemptuous rage, 
and upon its vanish the special quality of an inter- 
rogative pitch. 

This is not the place to speak of the degree of 
aspiration which is mingled with the utterance, 
from the deep sentiment of scorn in the question. 

On the whole, I confess that the discrimination 
of this mode of emphasis, in the current of pronun- 
ciation, is not so easy, as that of the preceding. Still 
it does exist as an element of force. Its effect is pe- 
culiar to itself: and by deliberate analysis is clearly 
resolvable into the above named constituents. 

Of the Thorough Emphasis. 

In detailing the assignable forms of force, I gave 
those of the thorough stress, and the loud concrete, 
as distinguishable from the rest and from each other. 



880 OF THE ASPIRATED EMPHASIS. 

But I do not feel disposed to insist upon the im- 
portance of these distinctions, for the practical pur- 
poses of elocution. They exist however, and exert 
their influence upon the ear, and understanding. 
Yet they are not so forcefully in degree nor speci- 
fically in quality, distinguishable from the radical 
and the compound stress, and from each other, as 
to require the special exemplification which has 
been made of those other elements. Any peculiarity 
which may be found in the two functions under 
consideration, is relative to the time of syllables : 
for when a syllable is not so short as to require the 
emphasis of the radical stress, nor of sufficient length 
to admit of the protracted modes of force, the re- 
quired distinction may be effected by the loud con- 
crete : as in the marked syllable below. 

This knows my Punisher : therefore as far 
From granting he, as I from fogging peace. 

Of the Aspirated Emphasis. 

In the section on aspiration, one of the expres- 
sive effects of that element, was shown in the earn- 
estness which is thereby spread over the whole of 
a sentence. But the same sentiment is sometimes 
carried in a single word ; thus constituting the as- 
pirated emphasis. Many words claim this empha- 
sis from the essential energy of their meaning ; and 
these, in some cases, have the literal mark of aspi- 
ration, as " havoc," " horror," " huzza.'' A similar 
remark may be made with regard to some of the 
interjections. I need not quote instances of aspi- 
rated utterance in the exclamations of passion, nor 



OP THE EMPHATIC VOCULE. 3gj 

in the pure breathing of a sigh : the pages of the 
drama are full of examples. 

In the following dialogue from Julius Caesar, the 
effect of the aspiration, in marking an earnest sen- 
timent, is sufficiently obvious, on the word " fear" 
which is set in italics. 

Brutus. What means this shouting r I do fear, the people 

Choose Caesar for their king. 
Cassius. Ay, do you fear it ? 

Then must I think you would not have it so. 

And again, in the tent scene, the earnest repug- 
nance of Cassius is manifested in the aspiration of 
the word " chastisement." 

Brutus. The name of Cassius honors this corruption, 

And chastisement does therefore hide his head. 
Cassius. Chastisement! 

If the aspiration is combined with the vanishing 
stress on a simple concrete, or on any of the forms 
of the wave, it communicates an expression of sneer, 
contempt, or scorn. 

The aspiration may be applied to syllables of 
every variety of time j to all the modes of force ; 
and to all intervals of intonation. 

Of the Emphatic Vocule. 

When an emphatic word terminates with an ab- 
rupt element, and is followed by a pause, that slight 
issue of sound which we have called the Vocule, 
generally receives a continuation of force from the 
emphatic word : and this, by its extraordinary in- 
crease, becomes the mark of high vocal excitement. 



382 OF THE GUTTURAL EMPHASIS. 

There are some occasions on which this ele- 
ment may be used, with a view to press into a syl- 
lable all the force of emphasis. But it comes so 
close to affectation, that I long hesitated about its 
classification, as a fault, or an assistant enforcement 
of speech. 

I will not say absolutely, it ought to be heard in 
the following lines, from the close of the third scene 
of the third act of Othello. But if the word " hate," 
be pronounced with the force required by the sen- 
timents of the Moor, the emphatic vocule will be 
very apt to follow the organic opening of the atonic 
abrupt element. 

Yield up, love, thy crown, and hearted throne 
To tyrannous hate ! swell, bosom, with thy fraught. 

Of the Guttural Emphasis. 

The sentiments of disgust, aversion, execration, 
and horror, give their expression to an emphatic 
word, by joining the peculiar quality of sound, here 
named, with other modes of distinction. "It is most 
frequent on the daily occasions for revolting inter- 
jectives : but it is sometimes found engrafted on 
the syllabic utterance of discourse. I am disposed 
to think it might be used on the word " detestable," 
in the following lines, from that dreadful maledic- 
tion upon Athens, at the opening of the fourth act 
of Shakspeare's Timon. 

Nothing I'll bear from thee 
But nakedness, thou detestable town! 

When this element is compounded with the high- 



OF THE TEMPORAL EMPHASIS. 3§S 

est powers of stress and aspiration, it produces the 
most impulsive blast of speech. 

Of the Temporal Emphasis. 

When the quantity of an emphatic syllable is 
long, and admits of indefinite extension, when the 
word conveys merely a discriminative meaning, 
without any peculiar sentiment or passion, or 
when the distinction has the sole purpose of an 
emphatic tie, the impression may be made by the 
influence of time alone, as in the following address 

Hail holy Light, offspring of Heaven first-born, 
Or of the Eternal, coeternal beam, 
May I express thee unblamed ? 

Or more conspicuously in Abdiel's warning to 
Satan. 

For soon expect to feel 
His thunder on thy head, dei'owringfire. 
Then, who created thee lamenting learn, 
When who can M?zcreate thee thou shalt know. 

In this example, the long quantities of the accent 
ed syllable of "thunder," and "devouring/' are 
given as instances of the emphatic tie ; by which 
the apposition of two subjects, notwithstanding the 
intervening clause, is shown in its true syntax by 
the voice. Perhaps these words, as well as those 
others marked with quantity alone, might, in the 
opinion of a critic, receive the additional distinction 
of a forceful or intonated mode of emphasis. It may 
be learned from the speech at large, that Abdiel is 



384 OF THE TEMPORAL EMPHASIS. 

no longer the ci fervent angel" contending with the 
apostate. He is now the herald of the decrees of 
the Almighty. The warm spirit, the hopes and the 
fears of argument, have given place to grave admo- 
nitions, and to the solemn declarations of an ordain- 
ed judgment -, and the mode of unimpassioned, but 
conspicuous distinction by temporal emphasis ap- 
pears well accommodated to the utterance of the 
" unmoved, unshaken, unseduced, unterrified," and 
prophetic Seraph. 

The reader must have seen how closely connect- 
ed the various accidents of speech are ; and that 
however wishfully the attempt is made, to bring 
them down to the state of single constituents, it is 
impossible to represent each separately in the ne- 
cessary illustrations. I am pretending here to 
speak of the simple extension of quantity as the 
means of emphasis, when in reality that quantity is 
effectual, as an attractive agent, even in its plainest 
form, through the influence of one of the formerly 
described elements of intonation. It must there- 
fore be taken into the account of the temporal em- 
phasis, that, — though the protraction of syllables 
may be made in the simple rise or fall of an inter- 
val, still the common form of a very long quantity 
is that of a direct or inverted w T ave. When time is 
extended on interrogative syllables, or on those 
which carry positiveness'or command, or which 
form a monad cadence, the intonation is drawn 
through the simple course of the upward or down- 
ward third or fifth or eighth. But in the plain em- 
phasis of time, such as that employed in the above 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF PITCH. $35 

examples, and such generally as may be used in 
the diatonic melody, which admits of no peculiar 
expression except that of serious dignity, — the ex- 
tension of the indefinite syllable is always made 
by the direct or inverted wave of the second. 

Of the Emphasis of Pitch. 

It was stated generally in speaking of the pitch 
of the voice, that the several intervals of the scale 
were used as the means of emphasis. We should now 
proceed to the illustration of this subject : but as the 
intervals of the rising third, fifth, and octave, were 
said to be the symbols of interrogation, and as they 
have this signification even when applied to one 
word of a sentence, it certainly becomes a matter 
of inquiry, how the interrogative characteristic in 
discourse is to be distinguished from the emphatic. 
There must be even to the common ear, some cri- 
teria to which reference is unconsciously made j 
for notwithstanding, the frequent employment of 
these elements in their different meanings, these 
meanings are rarelv confounded. But our discrimi- 
nations in this matter have been four footed instincts; 
let us try to enoble them a little, by giving them 
the support and exalted step of principles. 

The various modes of constructing interrogative 
sentences were described in the sixteenth section. 

As the emphatic employment of the intervals of 
pitch is on a single word of a sentence, or at most 
on two or three, there is no liability to mistake cases 
of emphasis, for those of declarative and earnest 
interrogation, which always bear the thorough into- 
3 D 



386 0F THE EMPHASIS OF PITCH. 

nation. It was shown formerly that the partial 
expression is never applied except to questions 
made by the pronoun or adverb, or by the inverted 
nominative : therefore, questions of this sort, even 
when intonated by a solitary third, or fifth, or oc- 
tave, are not liable to be confounded with cases of 
emphasis formed upon these same intervals, in sen- 
tences which have not the above described gram- 
matical construction. 

Many phrases which have the form of a question, 
seem nevertheless to hang doubtfully between an 
interrogative and an assertive meaning. When such 
phrases can be fairly resolved into an interjective 
appeal, or into that assurance in argument, which 
dictates a negative interrogatory, the positive tem- 
per of the sentiment generally calls for an intona- 
tion in the downward concrete. The following pas- 
sages are by editorial punctuation, marked with an 
interrogative sign. Whereas the above named con- 
ditions seem to me to apply so clearly here, that 
I would exclude the interrogative intervals, and 
would designate these virtual affirmations by the 
positiveness of a downward intonation. 

What should be in that Caesar ? 
Why should that name be sounded more than yours r 

Casca. What night is this ? 

Cassius. A very pleasing night to honest men. 
Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace so r 

Shylock. Ay, his breast : 

So says the bond! Doth it not noble judge ? 
Nearest his heart, those are the very words. 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE OCTAVE. 387 

In the first of these instances, Cassius does posi- 
tively mean that there is nothing in that Caesar, nor 
in his name. In the second, Casca would say, it is a 
dreadful night; and the heavens were never known 
to menace so. And in the last, Shylock means, you 
know it noble judge. If therefore the interrogative 
intonation should be applied either thoroughly or in 
part to these phrases, the intended positiveness of 
conviction, will not be reached in expression. Sen- 
tences of this sort call for the grammatical note of 
exclamation. 

We go on now to the enumeration of the intervals 
of pitch, which serve the purpose of emphasis. 

Of the Emphasis of the Octave. 

If the concrete rise of the Octave should be set 
on a single syllable of a current diatonic melody, 
it will, by the peculiarity of its sound, conspicuously 
distinguish that syllable above others formed on the 
interval of a tone ; and will thus be brought within 
the meaning of the term emphasis, even though it 
be altogether destitute of any excess in force. 

The reader may remember what was said on the 
subject of the intervals of the scale being appreci- 
able, even in the momentary flight of an immutable 
syllable. But it has been shown likewise, that such 
short syllables generally take on the expression of 
the octave, by a skip of radical pitch, from the level 
of current speech to the height of that interval above 
it. The emphasis of the octave appears therefore 
under the form of the slow concrete, and that of the 



388 0F THE EMPHASIS OF THE OCTAVE. 

change of radical pitch : and it may be well to have 
it understood here, that the same varieties exist in 
the emphasis of the other higher intervals of the 
scale. 

I cannot say that the octave is employed emphati- 
cally, except for the special enforcing of one word 
above others, in an interrogative sentence : and this 
indeed but rarely ; for there is a kind of musical 
cant in its long drawn accent, which excludes it 
from those elevated purposes of speech which it is 
the design of science to analyze and improve. 

The octave it was remarked formerly, carries 
the spirit of a quick, a taunting or a mirthful inter- 
rogative; and is perhaps never used in a calm, se- 
rious and dignified question. It would be admissible 
in the following sneering exultation of Shylock 
over Antonio. 

Monies is your suit. 
What should I say to you? should I not say? 
Hath a dog money ? Is it possible 
A cur can lend three thousand ducats ? 

Every word of the two last questions will bear 
an interrogative intonation : but the terms dog and 
cur being emphatic allusions to the previous rating 
of Shylock by Antonio, they carry a revengeful 
triumph, and an immediate antithesis to their for- 
mer purpose, by being run up to the piercing treble 
of the octave. It is possible, some readers might be 
disposed to set a more dignified mode of intonation 
on these questions. I only say they will bear what 
is here given, without making preference the sub- 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE OCTAVE. 389 

ject of discussion. The readings proposed through- 
out this essay are for illustration, and their design 
is fulfiled, whether or not they exactly accord with 
common opinion. There is a best in the works of 
every art : but the latitude of their variation, within 
the pale of principles, has an ample, and liberal 
scope, which generally takes in many of the un- 
successful searches after excellence. Over such 
failures the intelligent critic will be neither quar- 
relsome nor severe. 

The emphasis of the octave when formed by a 
change of radical pitch, is exemplified in the fol- 
lowing lines : 

Show me what thou'lt do : 
Woot weep? woot fght? woot fast ? woot tear thyself? 

The exasperated energy of Hamlet, in his en- 
counter with Laertes, calls for the highest pitch of 
interrogation on the words here marked ; but the 
correct pronunciation of these words does not ad- 
mit of the slow concrete. To fulfil the purposes 
of expression they are to be immediately transferr- 
ed by radical change to an octave above the word 
" woot," which is set in its several places, at the com- 
mon level of the voice. The emphatic syllable, 
when thusr aised, is still further endowed with the 
character of the interrogative interval, by a rapid 
flight through the concrete octave, agreeably to the 
account given of this process in a former section. 
In short, the first seven words of the second line 
do really skip, alternately ascending and descend- 
ing, between the extremes of an octave. 



390 OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE FIFTH. 

Whilst these lines are before us, it may be well 
to draw attention to the contrast between the two 
modes of pitch in the octave : for the word " tear," 
being an indefinite quantity, admits freely of the 
protracted concrete; and the voice, after being 
hampered on the preceding abrupt intonation, is 
here restored to its gliding movement. 

Of the Emphasis of the Fifth. 

The relation which the interval of the concrete 
fifth bears to the octave, was shown formerly as re- 
gards its interrogative character. As the symbol of 
emphatic sense or passion in a word, the fifth is 
less attractive to the ear than the octave : for it has 
not the piercing rise of intonation which belongs to 
the latter interval. If, however, it is less alluring 
than the octave, it is more dignified in giving its 
importance to a syllable. In the following lines 
from Satan's address to the sun, the emphasis on 
" thee," may be made by the concrete fifth. 

Evil be thou my good : by thee, at least 
Divided empire with Heaven's king I hold. 

I have said here, (and I beg the same latitude 
for other cases) that a certain symbol of emphasis 
may be employed : since, on many occasions, the 
means of emphasis may be varied. Thus, in the 
present example, the syllable " thee," might be 
made in the wave of the fifth or the third, or even 
the second ; but under this last substitution, the 
want of that eminence which is given by the rise 
of the fiflh, must be supplied by a long quantity. 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE THIRD. 39 [ 

and by the use of the radical or median or vanish- 
ing stress on the wave so employed. 

In the following lines, the emphasis of the fifth 
is perhaps not absolutely unchangeable to any other 
mode j but it certainly produces a brightness of 
picture, which seems best suited to the feeling of 
the word, and which cannot perhaps be so well ef- 
fected in any other way. 

Tears like the rain-flrops may fall without measure, 
But rapture and beauty they cannot recall. 

The emphasis of the fifth, by a skip of radical 
pitch, is well exemplified in that line which was 
used to show the radical stress. 

Which, if not rictory, is yet revenge. 

Here the force required on the word " victory," 
claims all the assistance which intonation can lend 
to its abrupt stress : and it is given by setting the 
short syllable " vie'' at a discrete fifth above the 
place of u not.'' 

I need not give an instance of the emphatic ap- 
plication of the fifth, to an interrogative sentence. 
The principle of the scheme has been developed : 
books are filled with examples ; and the reader can 
therefore make the illustration. 

Of the Emphasis of the Third. 

The striking intonation of the octave and the 
fifth is suited to the earnest spirit of colloquial ut- 
terance, and to the forcible sentiments of the dra- 
ma. The rise of the voice through the third, though 



^92 UF THE EMPHASIS OF THE THIRD. 

still denoting both interrogation and emphasis, pro- 
duces a less intense, but a more dignified impres- 
sion on the ear, in the purposes of its application. 
The emphasis of the third is perhaps the most com- 
mon of the three higher intervals of the scale : since 
it is usual in that moderate manner of discourse, 
which constitutes the greater share of the reader's 
duty. 

The rise of the third may be set on the word 
; ' he," in the following lines. 

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt r 
The infernal Serpent: he it was, whose guile, 
Stirred up with envy and revenge — 

There are some phrases simply interrogative ; 
which convey none of those other sentiments for- 
merly ascribed to the octave and the fifth. The em- 
phatic distinction in these cases, is made with the 
moderately attractive influence of the third. 

Dost thou think Alexander looked o" 1 this fashion i 1 the earth? 

If, in this example " Alexander," " this fashion," 
and " earth," be taken as emphatic, the distinction 
will be most becomingly made by the third. If the 
intonation on these words should be in the higher 
interval of the fifth or octave, it would imply an 
eagerness of inquiry, and a light familiarity of ad- 
dress, not suggested by the sense of the question, 
nor consistent with the temper of Hamlet's moral- 
izing reflections. 

It is scarcely worth while to illustrate the radical 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE SEMITONE. 393 

skip of the third In relation to emphasis. The 
word " victory," in a preceding example, may be 
executed in this discrete interval, if the reader 
should think the fifth, which is there used, too 
high : for it may serve to explain either case accord- 
ing to the degree of energy which may be ascribed 
to it. 

It was shown in the fifteenth section, that the 
third is appropriately employed on the emphatic 
words of conditional, concessive, and hypothetical 
phrases. To which it may now be added, that there 
is no emphatic word, whatever are the sentiments 
embraced by it, which may not receive the intona- 
tion of the third as a means of adding color to the 
expression, if that third is not forbidden by a call 
for the wave, or some form of the downward van- 
ish. 

Of the Emphasis of tlie Semitone. 

I omit here, alloting a head to the subject of 
the tone or second. The reader must by this time 
be so well acquainted with the construction of the 
diatonic melody, as to admit, that if the second is 
the common form of the concrete, in all discourse 
which carries no important or peculiar expression, 
the simple rise through that interval cannot as far 
as regards pitch, be emphatic. Indeed the ether 
intervals owe their attractive power to their con- 
trast with this general current of the simple second. 
It is true a syllable is made emphatic by quantity; 
and that quantity is commonly a prolongation 
3 E 



394 OF THE EMPHASIS CF THE SEMITONE. 

through the doubling of the second into the form 
of the wave. But the impressiveness is here a qua- 
lity of time, not of intonation. 

As the semitone has a peculiar expression, it 
could fulfil the condition of emphasis, when laid 
upon a single word in the course of a diatonic me- 
lody. It rarely happens however that a word is 
found thus insulated : for if a plaintive sentiment 
issues from one word, it generally spreads its ef- 
fect over the whole of the sentence ; thus constitut- 
ing the chromatic melody, and thereby destroying 
the important solitariness of the semitone. 

There are however other modes of emphasis in 
a chromatic melody. It may be by stress in all its 
forms ; and by time, for the semitone is set on syl- 
lables of all quantities. It may likewise be effected 
by intonation, in the following manner. 

If a syllable calls for an emphasis of pitch in a 
chromatic melody, that emphasis cannot be a con- 
crete rise through the second, third, fifth or eighth : 
for these movements would destroy the plaintive- 
ness, which by the conditions of the case should 
exist. But if a syllable of the chromatic melody be 
elevated by a discrete radical change, from the level 
of the current to a third, fifth or octave above it ; 
and if when thus raised, it be there made, however 
rapidly, in the concrete of the semitone, it is evi- 
dent that the plaintive or chromatic character 
will be preserved : and since the given syllable, by 
the transfer of the radical pitch, is raised to a more 
acute point of the scaJe, it is in another manner 



EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD CONCRETE. 3§5 

conspicuously impressed on the ear, and thus fully 
answers to the definition of emphasis. 

Of the Emphasis of the Downward Concrete. 

We have said that the downward movement of 
the voice conveys the expression of surprise and 
positiveness, and is the mode of making a cadence 
on a single long syllable. But something further on 
the mode of applying this concrete, for the purpose 
of emphasis in the course of a current melody, is 
now to be learned. 

The downward concrete is a mode of emphatic 
distinction ; carrying in its wider intervals a strong 
degree of attractiveness, but limited to certain kinds 
of discourse. Thus it cannot be applied, in cases of 
thorough interrogative intonation : nor is it in its 
simple forms used in the chromatic melody. When 
necessary in this last instance, for denoting surprise 
or positiveness, it may be introduced as a constitu- 
ent of the unequal wave : for the rise of the semi- 
tone as the first constituent, will preserve the char- 
acter of the chromatic melody - y and a subsequent 
continuation downwards, through the eighth, or 
fifth or third, will join to this melody, the peculiar 
expression of the falling concretes. As far as I have 
observed the downward movement, it may be em- 
ployed as the means of emphasis in all other kinds 
of discourse. 

In illustrating this function of the voice, in a fore- 
going section, the following example was quoted: 

Seems, madam, nav, it is J I know not seems. 



396 EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD CONCRETE. 

Now in assigning a concrete fifth to an emphatic 
syllable of this line; and on other occasions, giving 
a notation of the downward third, and the radical 
skip of both these intervals, I represented the fall 
as taking place from the line of the current melody. 
This is not exactly the case : but as I was then 
taking a physiological view of the downward move- 
ment, I did not wish to anticipate the history of 
emphasis. 

If " is" in the above line be pronounced in the 
monad or feeble cadence ; that is, if the descent 
through a third be made on this word as if it were 
the close of a sentence, it will not have that em- 
phatic force (stress and time being aside in this 
consideration) which is required by the sense. It 
cannot be, then, the simple descent of the voice 
from the line of current melody, which gives im- 
pressiveness to this downward emphasis. 

The full effect of the downward concrete, as an 
emphatic symbol, is produced by commencing its 
radical on a line of pitch above the current melody, 
and descending to that line or below it, according 
to the degree of expression. The height at which 
the outset or radical of the descending concrete is* 
to be taken, will depend on the degree of positive- 
ness or surprise contemplated in the emphasis. 
Whether the effect of the downward concrete pro- 
ceeds from its affinity to the nature of the cadence, 
I will not decide. It is certain however that there 
is something like an ultimate affirmation in a very 
positive assertion : it being as much as to say, the 
affirmation or negation of this quality or action is 



EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD OCTAVE. 397 

beyond doubt, therefore let no more be said about 
it. 

It may perhaps be asked, — why the downward 
vanish, emphatically used in the current melody, 
does not produce the effect of a cadence, and thus 
intersect the sense of discourse. It is to be recol- 
lected that the feeblest form of the cadence consists 
in the concrete descent through the third, conse- 
quently the downward emphasis can at most amount 
but to this feeble form. And it is to be further 
borne in mind, that the proper cadence is continu- 
ed downward from the line of the current melody : 
whereas the emphatic downward concrete, begins 
at a point of pitch much above the line of the me- 
lody, and does not always descend below it. 

Of the Emphasis of the Downward Octave. 

After what has been said generally of the down- 
ward emphasis, it is scarcely necessary to state that 
the octave, when set on a long syllable, gives the 
highest degree, of this species of emphasis. The 
word u hell" in the following lines requires the oc- 
tave : 

So frown'd the mighty combatants, that Hell 
Grew darker at their frown. 

This is taken from the fine description of the 
threatful hostility between Satan and Death, in 
the second book of Paradise Lost. And who ever 
gives this part with a forcible and somewhat dra- 
matic effect, will find it impossible to bring out the 



398 EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD OCTAVE. 

full sense of the poet, except by the above directed 
intonation. The intention of the author, if I dare to 
interpret it, is not to represent, without marking 
its degrees, an increase of darkness produced by 
the figurative gloom of the brows of the combatants. 
Such a picture would be too tame and trite for this 
dreadful edge of battle. The thought becomes 
worthy of the occasion, when the frowns, are said 
to be able to blacken the deep darkness even of 
Hell. 

So much for the description and illustration of 
the concrete pitch of the downward octave. But 
the transition for the purpose of emphasis is made 
on immutable syllables, by a change of radical 
pitch from an assumed point above the current me- 
lody. The following passage from the second book 
of Milton, may serve for illustration : 

Far less abhorr'd than these 
Vex'd Scylla, bathing in the sea that parts 
Calabria from the hoarse Trinacrian shore. 

I know not how others might attempt to make 
out the picture of this first line : but I can in no 
way satisfy my ear with it, except by a concrete 
rise through the octave on " far," by giving " less" 
at the top of that interval, and then descending by 
the discrete skip of an octave in radical pitch to 
" ab ;" thus returning to the level of the radical of 
" far," or to the line of the current melody. It is not 
the place, but I may here say that " horr'd," is to 
be executed in the concrete downward emphasis 
of the octave. 



Nor uglier follow the night hag. 



r EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD FIFTH. 399 

A similar intonation is appropriate to the passage 
which follows in the text of the poem, 
m 
h, 
sa 
: 



In the examples here shown, I say nothing of the 
modes of stress or of the aspiration which might 
be necessary for the full vocal display of these pas- 
sages. My business is with that single element, the 
downward movement. 

If it be asked, — why the descent by the radical 
pitch has not the effect of the cadencial close ; — it 
may be answered, that it does indeed approximate 
towards the nature of a cadence ; but it is still a 
feeble one, and not sufficient to cut off the sense of 
discourse. For the descent is from a point assumed 
above the current line, and the downward reach 
is to about the level of that line : whereas the true 
and final cadence is made by a descent of three 
tones below that line. 

Of the Emphasis of the Doivnioard Fifth. 

The similarity of this element with the last, the 
difference consisting in degree only, renders it unne- 
cessary to do more, than quote a phrase in which 
the less energetic emphasis of the downward fifth 
may be employed. The word " courageous," in the 
following extract from the dramatic contention be- 
tween Gabriel and Satan, at the close of the fourth 
book of Paradise Lost, bears this downward fifth on 
its accented syllable. 

Courageous chief 
The first in flight from pain ! 



460 EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD THIRD. 

The radical change of the downward fifth is ex- 
hibited in the reading of the following lines from 
the first act of Julius Caesar. In the second scene 
after Cassius has brought out from Brutus a proud 
declaration of his love of honor, he says 

I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, 
As well as I do know your outward favor. 
Well, honor is the subject of my story. 

Now, the sentiment here conveyed, that this hon- 
or is the very matter he desires to speak of, is to 
be made out by the downward emphasis on the 
word subject. But the accented syllable of this 
word is too short to bear the concrete. The ex- 
pression is therefore to be accomplished through a 
discrete intonation by assuming the first syllable 
" sub/' at a fifth above the current melody, and re- 
turning to the line of that melody, on u ject," by 
the radical skip of a fifth. Some other forms of 
emphasis may, in a manner, show the sense of this 
line. But I am very confident, if the experiment 
be made before an ear of judgment and taste, that 
none will give the bright picture of the sentiment 
which is effected by the mode of intonation here 
proposed. 

Of the Emphasis of the Dowwnard Third. 

The third bears an abated degree of the sense 
and sentiment conveyed by the preceding intervals. 
Thus, in the following word " amaze," from the 
part of Cassius just referred to, the concrete third 
may be aptly used. 



EMPHASIS OF THE DOWNWARD THIRD. 4QJ 

Ye Gods, it doth amaze me, 
That a man of such a feeble temper should 
So get the start of the majestic world. 

Now, if the reader will intonate the indefinite 
syllable " maze," by bringing the concrete down 
from a third above the current melody : and again 
by falling concretely from the line of the current 
melody, to a third below it, he will perceive distinct- 
ly the difference between the downward emphasis 
of the third, and the close of the feeble cadence. 

The emphasis of the downward third by change 
of radical skip, may be made by a transition from 
" that" to " too/' in the following phrase. 

Cassius. They shouted thrice ; what was the last cry for : 
Casca. Why, for that too. 

Here the word " that," is to be raised above the 
line of pitch of the preceding words. 

The reader may recollect that the prepared ca- 
dence was noted by the downward radical change 
of the third, preceding the triad. Now, although this 
change is the skip of a third, and the voice falls 
from the line of the current melody; still it does 
not produce a cadence at its place. For the low- 
est constituent of this phrase of the third, if I may 
so call it, does not end in a feeble downward tone, 
but in an upward vanish, similar to the rest of the 
melody. This downward radical skip has all the 
effect of an emphasis, by forcibly impressing on the 
ear the most complete accomplishment of the close. 
3 F 



402 OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE WAVE. 

The downward second being a common constitu- 
ent of the diatonic melody, has no emphatic quali- 
ties. It serves to give variety to the current, by 
occasionally taking the place of the rising concrete. 
When given to the last constituent of a downward 
tritone, it makes the tripartite cadence. 

The downward semitone has peculiarity sufficient 
to mark a strong emphatic distinction : but I am 
not aware of its being ever introduced, in a solita- 
ry manner, into the diatonic melody : and in the 
chromatic it merely serves the purpose of variety, 
similar to that of the downward second in the dia- 
tonic current. 

Of the Emphasis of the Wave. 

The junction of opposite concretes produces a 
positive effect upon the ear, which gives emphatic 
distinction to the words on which it is applied. 

If one were to draw the rules of reading from the 
mass of mankind, and not from cultivated and rare 
examples of excellence, it would be necessary to 
add to the two formerly described kinds of ineJody, 
that of the wave • since there are many speakers 
who apply the higher species of this element of 
intonation, to every long and emphatic syllable of 
discourse. Such a practice, to say the least of it, 
certainly prevents the employment of the impres- 
sive kinds of wave, as the means of emphasis. 

The wave expresses, according to its forms, sur- 
prise, interrogation, mirthful wonder, sneer and 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE WAVE. 493 

scorn : and is emphatically used on long quantities 
which embrace these sentiments. 

The dignified diatonic melody is made, as has 
been shown, by the wave of the second : but this is 
only a method of adding the gravity of the down- 
ward second, to the lighter effect of the ascent of 
that interval : and of producing that length in sylla- 
bles which is essential to solemn utterance, without 
incurring the risk of falling into the note of song 
or recitative. Consequently this wave of the second 
cannot be enumerated among the means of em- 
phasis. The other waves of higher intervals serve 
also the purpose of giving time and dignity ty utter- 
ance, by doubling the intervals on which they are 
respectively founded. But they have a striking 
peculiarity when heard in the diatonic melody: giv- 
ing thereby to the words which bear them, an em- 
phatic distinction. 

If the sentiment of scorn is contained in dignified 
discourse, it is to be expressed by the use of the 
vanishing stress, or by aspiration, joined with either 
the simple rise or fall of the concrete, or with the 
direct or inverted form of the single wave. For 
there is a degree of levity and familiarity in the 
double wave, which is unsuitable to the kind of dis- 
course from which we are here excluding it. 

In considering the emphasis of the wave, I shali 
not attempt to illustrate all its forms. If the reader 
has been careful to follow me in the analysis of this 
element, he will be able to make out all these 
things for himself: and there are too many varie- 



404 EMPHASIS OF THE EQUAL WAVE. 

ties of the wave to justify any thing like an entire 
enumeration of them. I shall name a few species. 

Of the Emphasis of the Equal single Wave of the 
Octave. 

I cannot at this moment give an example, from 
serious composition, of an octave in the above form. 
The piercing drawl of its intonation is only com- 
mon in the play of vulgar snarlings, if indeed it is 
ever employed for any other purpose. It expresses 
an active sense of surprise ; and when heightened 
by the vanishing stress, aspiration or guttural em- 
phasis*, it has the additional meaning of sneer and 
scorn. There is a difference in the effect of this 
symbol, according as it is made on a low or a high 
pitch of the voice. In the latter place, it has more 
of the character of raillery or mirthful comment 
than of canting contempt. 

If the single equal octave is inverted, the em- 
phasis has the character of interrogation, from the 
ascent of the last constituent. 

Of the Emphasis of the Equal single wave of the 
Fifth. 

This element carries a degree of admiration, 
but less than that of the octave : as in the follow- 
ing example from the contest between Satan and 
Death. 

And breath'st defiance here and scorn, 
Where I reign king ? and to enrage the more, 
Thy king and lord ! 



EMPHASIS OF THE UNEQUAL WAVE. 4Q5 

Whoever will read the whole passage with the 
dramatic power which its com position justifies, will 
find he may set the element now under considera- 
tion, on the syllable " thy," as the full expression 
of the positiveness, vaunting authority and self-ad- 
miration of the Goblin. 

In order to show the difference in character be- 
tween this direct wave, and its inverted form, let 
the latter be substituted in the above reading. The 
interrogative effect produced by the ascent of its 
last constituent, will not only obscure the soul of 
the poet, but absolutely cross out his sense : for it 
will make Death ask a question, when he intends 
to be unanswerably affirmative. 

I need not consume time by giving an example 
of the wave of the Third in its equal single form. 
If we suppose an abatement in the degree of ex- 
pression, all that was said of the character of the 
wave of the fifth, may be affirmed of it. It is more 
commonly employed than the fifth. 

Of the Emphasis of the Unequal single Wave. 

I said formerly that the unequal wave is used 
as the symbol of admiration, surprise or interro- 
gation, according as its course is direct or invert- 
ed : in the wide variation of the dimensions of its 
constituents, and in its junction with vanishing stress 
or aspiration or guttural emphasis, it becomes the 
most eminent mark of scorn. The last word of the 
following contemptuous retort of Coriolanus on the 
Volscian general who had called him a " boy of 



406 EMPHASIS OF THE UNEQUAL WAVE. 

tears," might perhaps be given as an instance of 
the ascent of a fifth and the subsequent descent of 
an octave. 

False hound ! 
If you have writ your annals true, 'tis there 
That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I 
Fluttered your Voices in Corioli ; 
Alone I did it. — Boy ! 

I say nothing here of the strong aspiration, ne* 
cessary to blow out the scornful feeling of the 
speaker. I have heard this syllable pronounced on 
the Stage, with the simple downward emphasis. 
But there is more cool wonder and self-satisfaction 
in this intonation, than belongs to the Roman's vex- 
ed baying of his revilers, and to his vehement re- 
tort of a half acknowledged charge of inconstancy 
of purpose. 

In the following lines, from the contention be- 
tween Brutus and Cassius, the word " yea" may 
bear a direct unequal wave, consisting of the rise of 
a tone or third, connected with the fall of a third 
or fifth. 

For, from this day forth, 
I '11 use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter, 
When you are waspish. 

If this word be given without aspiration or van- 
ishing stress or guttural voice, I do not know that 
the expression will differ much from the equal 
wave. The sneer must therefore depend on the 
union of some one of these last named elements 
with the simple utterance. 

The following is an example of an unequal wave 



OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE TREMOR. 407 

whose first constituent is a semitone; and the second 
a downward third or fifth, according to the force 
required by the sentiment: 

You wrong me every way, you wrong me, Brutus. 

I have turned over all the books within my reach 
without being able to find a sentence for illustrating 
a case of the double wave. Serious and elevated 
discourse can have all its purposes of feeling and 
sense fulfilled without it: and it is not the design 
of this essay to point out to children and drolls, the 
scientific mode of derisively imitating the surprise 
of their neighbours, by the curling mockery of this 
vulgar element. 

I have nothing to say about the Time of the con- 
crete as a means of emphasis. These variations of 
time are perceptible by strict attention : but they 
are so closely united with the modes of stress, that 
the separate consideration of them would be an unne- 
cessary refinement. 

Of the Emphasis of the Tremor. 

The tremor may be applied to a succession of 
syllables, and thus, in a manner, constitute a tremu- 
lous melody. But we have here to consider its oc- 
casional application to one or two words in a cur- 
rent melody. 

When the tremor is made on a tonic element, in 
any interval except the semitone, it is the symbol 
of laughter : and consequently, in syllabic utterance 
it joins to the sense of the words on which it is set, 
the expression of joy and exultation 



108 OF THE EMPHASIS OF THE TREMOR. 

Thou art the ruins of the noblest man, 
That ever lived in the tide of times. 

There is a sentiment of exultation, and a super- 
lativeness of compliment in this eulogy, which can- 
not be properly expressed by the smooth movement 
of the concrete. The first syllable of the emphatic 
word " noblest," when uttered with the tremulous 
intonation of the wave of the third or second, gives 
the vocal consummation to the feeling which sug- 
gests the exceeding measure of the praise. 

When the tremor is formed of a single tonic, in 
the semitone or its waves, it constitutes the function 
of crying. When employed in the syllabic intona- 
tion of the chromatic melody it sets a more marked 
distinction on those emphatic words which express 
the sentiments of tenderness, grief, supplication, 
and other connatural states of feeling. 

The following passage is taken from a dramatic 
part of Paradise Lost, in the tenth book ; and if 
read with the personal action of the dialogue, calls 
for the highest coloring of the semitone, and of 
the tremulous movement. 

Forsake me not thus, Adam ! witness, Heaven, 
What love sincere, and reverence in my heart 
I bear thee, and unweeting have offended, 
Unhappily deceived ! Thy suppliant 
I beg, and clasp thy knees ; bereave me not, 
Whereon I live, thy gentle looks, thy aid, 
Thy counsel in this uttermost distress, 
My only strength and stay. Forlorn of thee, 
Whither shall I betake me, where subsist ? 
While yet we live, scarce one short hour perhaps, 
Between us two let there be peace ; both joining.. 



OF THE EMPHASIS OP THE TREMOR. 499 

As joined in injuries, one enmity 

Against a foe by doom express assigned us, 

That cruel Serpent. On me exercise not 

Thy hatred for this misery befallen ; 

On me already lost, me than thyself 

More miserable ? Both have sinned ; but thou 

Against God only; I, against God and thee; 

And to the place of judgment will return, 

There with my cries importune Heaven, that all 

The sentence, from thy head removed, may light 

On me, sole cause to thee of all this wo ; 

Me, me only, just object of his ire ! , 

Eve " ended weeping," and her supplication was 
made " with tears that ceased not flowing." And 
tears in speech are never made without more or 
less tremor in the voice. If the semitonic tremor 
should be made throughout this passage, the effect 
would be monotonous, and the characteristic con- 
crete of speech would be lost in the agitated voice 
of crying. The mingled efficacy of these functions 
may be appropriately shown by using the tremor 
only on the judiciously selected emphatic words. 
It may be well to remark that the above lines are 
not entirely subservient to the manner of delivery 
here suggested : for the syllables of some of the 
words which carry the deepest feeling of contrition 
and supplication, have not sufficient quantity to 
allow the eminent intonation of the tremor. The 
word " beg," and the accented syllable of " utter- 
most," though capable in a degree, of the tremor, 
still they abruptly abridge.the craving of sentiment 
and the scope of the voice. The words c£ bereave," 
''only,' 1 " forfom:' " thee," and « more," through 
S G 



410 A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 

their indefinite quantity give ample measure to into- 
nation. On these then and others, which might be 
designated, the tremor maybe effectually set, whilst 
all the other parts of the melody, not so marked, 
must have the smooth concrete of the semitone. 

A Recapitulating view of Emphasis. 

Upon a close consideration of the foregoing sub- 
ject, it will be found difficult to draw a definite line 
of separation between words which are emphatic, 
and the common run of the melody: in as much as 
some of the fainter cases of emphasis may scarcely 
differ from the simply accentual and temporal dis- 
tinction of syllables. 

To what case then is the term emphasis to be ap- 
plied ? Not to that of every syllable which differs 
in any degree from its neighbour. For by this rule 
we may regard half the words of language as em- 
phatic : since they are perpetually varying from 
others by slight degrees of force and quantity • and 
since some important elements of pitch when not 
assisted by time and stress, are occasionally applied 
to syllables, without producing thereby any extra- 
ordinary distinction. There are, however, certain 
characteristics of vocal sounds which unerringly call 
the attention of an auditory. High powers of stress, 
extreme length in quantity, wide intervals of pitch, 
and any peculiar quality of voice, when set on cer- 
tain words, may be considered as the constituents 
of emphasis. But at what degree on the respective 
scales of these elements, the emphatic character 



A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 4H 

begins, cannot be assigned, and perhaps need not 
be known. 

The subject of emphasis may be viewed under 
several aspects : and they are here pointed out, with 
the design to contribute towards future philosophi- 
cal inquiry on this question. — Somewhat more time 
than I dare devote to these matters, would be re- 
quisite for deducing the general rules of nature, 
and for making a systematic scheme on this sub- 
ject. But if enough has not been already said in 
this department, I am not unwilling to leave some- 
thing to be done by others. 

Emphasis has, in the preceding parts of this sec- 
tion, been regarded as expressive of certain senti- 
ments and thoughts, through the agency of the se- 
veral accidents of the voice. 

Emphasis may likewise be considered in refe- 
rence to its general purposes. These are First. 
To raise one or more words above the level of the 
rest of the sentence, witjiout regard to their special 
relationships or antithesis. Secondly. To contrast 
certain words with each other, or to contradistin- 
guish them. Thirdly. To supply an elipsis, and there- 
by complete to the ear, that construction which is 
imperfect in grammar. Fourthly. To mark the syn- 
tax in those cases where it might be doubtful with- 
out the assistance of emphasis. 

Another view of this subject might be grounded 
on an analysis of the parts of speech. Thus when 
an emphasis is laid on the article, it contradistin- 
guishes a subject as definite or indefinite, as singu- 
lar or plural. — When made on a noun, it may either 



412 A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS, 

express a direct opposition between some of the 
various accidents of this part of speech, or it may 
raise one substantive-thought above the rest of the 
sentence, without the immediate suggestion of any 
special antithesis, — On pronouns its distinctions are 
relative to gender, number, case and person, or it 
may indicate, as on the article, the definite nature of 
a subject-On the verb it may show the relationship 
of states of being, acting and suffering, of time and 
number ; or, may distinguish without palpable an- 
tithesis. — On the adverb it may give the contra- 
distinctions of time, place, negation, affirmation and 
inference. — On the preposition it may mark the an- 
tithesis of motion, position and cause. — On conjunc- 
tions it may show the contrasts of conjunctive and 
disjunctive relations; and of condition. — On the in- 
terjection, emphasis serves only for unrelated dis- 
tinction, and does not, as far as I know, embrace an 
antithesis. 

On the whole, whatever t is the meaning of any 
part of speech, emphasis may not only raise it into 
importance, and contradistinguish it from some 
other meaning, but may likewise be employed to 
supply an elipsis, and to point out the syntax. 

I have read somewhere, — that every case of em- 
phasis includes contrast. This certainly is not true 
of emphatic interjections, at least I am not able to 
discern the antithesis in them : and with regard to 
the cases included under the detail of the other 
parts of speech, there are many instanr.es in which 
the contrast is not brought before attention notwith- 



A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 413 

standing it is admitted that such antithesis is abso- 
lutely included in the thought. 

It is not within the range of my design to illus- 
trate all the cases of emphasis which have been set 
forth in the above survey of species, suggested by 
the philosophy of the parts of speech. I here ex- 
emplify only the four general heads of the Purpo- 
ses of emphasis, given above. 

First. The distinction of one word above others, 
without the striking perception of antithesis, is here 
shown. 

But see ! the angry victor hath recall'd 
His ministers of vengeance and pursuit, 
Back to the gates of Heaven. 

This first phrase is interjective ; but I cannot con- 
ceive with what c< see," is in contrast. Surely Sa- 
tan in drawing the attention of the eyes of Beelze- 
bub, did not mean to signify, that he should not 
touch, taste, or otherwise perceive the recall of the 
pursuit : And to suppose " see," to be in antithesis 
to his not having looked before, is a mere refine- 
ment. The case is the same with most interjections, 
whether they are properly the simple tonic ele- 
ments, or with greater latitude, any of the several 
parts of speech. 

Secondly. The marked antithesis is exemplified 
in the following lines : 

I yielded, and from that time see 
How beauty is excelled by man\y grace. 
And wisdom, which alone is truly fair. 

This is the most frequent form of emphasis 



414 A RECAPITULATING VIEW OP EMPHASIS. 

Thirdly. The use of strong emphasis in an elipti- 
cal sentence is remarkable in the following instance. 

Into what pit thou seest ! 
From what height fall'n ! so much the stronger proved 
He with his thunder. 

Taking these lines as a complete construction, 
they are ungrammatical, and unintelligible. It is 
scarcely necessary to suggest that the poet meant 
to say, " see to what a dreadful pit we are doomed, 
consider from what an immeasurable height we 
have been hurled, and the degree of his superior 
strength may be proved." Or thus, " as far as the 
horrors and the depth of this pit are removed from 
the bliss and height of heaven, so far has the thun- 
der of the Almighty surpassed the strength of our 
arms." Now, this full meaning can be clearly 
brought out from the eliptical phraseology of the 
poet, only by one mode of intonation. If the word 
" what," in its two places be given with an empha- 
sis of the downward octave, forcibly aspirated, and 
with a loud concrete ; and if the succeeding words 
within the notes of admiration, be also intonated 
with downward vanishes, the true astonishment of 
the sentiment and the measure of the conquest will 
be shown. And further, if a cadence and a pause 
be made at " fall'n," and if " so much" be strong- 
ly emphatic, the reference of the comparison to the 
strength of the thunder, will be perceived ; and the 
sense will come upon the ear, in that laconic elo- 
quence with which it was condensed and felt in the 
imagination of the poet. 



A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 415 

Fourthlv. When the structure of a sentence is so 

«/ 

much involved as to produce a momentary hesitation 
in an audience, about the concord or government, 
the syntax may be rendered perspicuous by means 
of emphasis, as in this example : 

He stood, and called 
His legions, Angel forms, who lay entranced 
Thick as Autumnal leaves that strow the brooks 
In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades 
Higli over-arched embower ; or scattered sedge 
Afloat, when with fierce winds Orion armed 
Hath vexed the Red-sea coast. 

If this passage stood thus " Thick as autumnal 
leaves, in Vallombrosa, or scattered sedge afloat," 
&c. there could be no hesitation about the construc- 
tion. But the chain of parenthetic specifications be- 
tween " leaves'' and " or,''together with the pic- 
turesque association, and the beauty of the phraseo- 
logy, — make us for a moment lose sight of that in- 
tended transition to another subject of illustration, 
which should be immediate and perspicuous. For 
the substitutive sense of the conjunction " or," is 
not at once so plain, that the phrase " scattered 
sedge," might not, in the moment of utterance, be 
prospectively taken as a nominative in some new 
course of the subject. But if the clause " thick as au- 
tumnal leaves," which shows a comparison, be em- 
phatically raised into memorable notice, and if the 
succeeding words, extending to the semicolon, be 
hurried, yet becomingly, the subsequent emphasis 
on "scattered sedge afloat,'' will at once refer the ear 
back to the last similar distinction of the voice, on 



|16 A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 

" autumnal leaves/' and thus indicate that the an- 
gel forms lay likewise as thick as the scattered 
sedge afloat. 

This element of expression, for so it is, was called, 
in the section on Grouping, the Emphatic tie : and 
certainly in the present case it has no other object 
than to join these dissevered thoughts; for in a more 
natural and perspicuous connexion there would be 
no call for the emphatic distinction. 



Having thus enumerated the various modes of 
time, quality, stress and intonation, by which certain 
words or syllables of a sentence are brought con- 
spicuously before the ear, the reader is prepared 
to receive the term emphasis with a wider defini- 
tion than is usually given to it. 

Emphasis is a generic term for the extraordinary 
impressiveness of the sense or sentiment of words : 
the species of impression being founded on the va- 
ried accidents of the voice. 

From this view it appears, that Emphasis and 
what we have called Expression, may be considered 
in most cases, as convertible generic-terms : since 
emphatic words differ from those which are unem- 
phatic, through those functions which constitute the 
proper expression of speech. 

The preceding analysis will enable us to display 
the whole compass of the art of reading, with some 
amplitude of plan and precision of delineation : 
Words, as symbols of meaning, may be considered 
under three aspects : as representatives of simple 
thought ; as indicative of an enforcing of thought : 



A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 4^7 

and as expressive of passion. The progress of the 
voice in speaking, is called melody. The course of 
melody under the direction of simple thought, is 
through the interval of a tone in the radical change, 
with a concrete rise of a tone from each of those radi- 
cals. But the portions of discourse which represent 
simple thought, are limited : those thoughts are to 
be enforced, and passions are to be expressed. The 
tenor of the simple diatonic melody is therefore of- 
ten interrupted, by an occurrence of higher inter- 
vals of the scale, both in the concrete and discrete 
forms. Thus it appears that those transitions of pitch 
which were called phrases of melody, and were 
said to be six in number, are multiplied by the use 
of some of the above mentioned elements of empha- 
sis. For on the principle which suggested the name 
of the ditone, we have by the employment of the 
radical change of higher intervals, the Phrase of the 
Third, and Fifth, and Octave, both in an upward 
and downward direction. 

If the reader has understood rightly the descrip- 
tion of the functions of the voice, the pages of the 
historian and the poet, will suggest to him the occa- 
sions for their application. The ways of simple na- 
rative, the places and modes of stress and of intona- 
tion in expression, have been exemplified, in refer- 
ence to the sense and sentiment of discourse. If the 
scheme is sufficiently clear, the reader may trace 
the general outline of utterance : and if his mind is 
large and liberal enough to let in other thoughts 
than those of interest and daily fame, he may 
herein possess and enjoy, at least the picture of 
3 H 



418 A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS 

a simple and beautiful system of nature, if he can- 
not by practical means offer it for sale or applause. 
The possession of a good ear, together with a 
resolute practice, will be necessary for the precise 
recognition, and skilful employment of the enume- 
rated elements. But a full understanding of the 
mere theory of speech, as laid down in this essay, 
without an accomplished practical execution of its 
rules, will enable one to overlook the exercises of 
others, with the decisive commendation or censure 
of an intelligent criticism : to carry the steady arm 
of principles, against the self-conflicting councils, 
and changeful orders of authority : to hold out 
against error with the real defences of opinion; and 
to associate the delightful but passing perceptions 
of the ear, with the continued and busy pleasures 
of mental discrimination. 

When the ingenuous reader reviews the pre- 
ceding history, I must beg him to bear in mind its 
design. The purpose was to analyze the functions 
of speech, without a strict limitation of the search 
to those points which might be readily cognizable 
in ordinary utterance, or practically important in 
oratorical instruction. I have recorded no pheno- 
menon, the discovery of which has not been the 
result of patient experiment. There are some 
parts of the detail that will at once be recognised 
by the competent critic : others will be afterwards 
received into the growing familiarity of his obser- 
vation : and some of the descriptions, even if per- 
ceived in deliberate trial, will still be considered 
as niceties of disputable application, and beyond 



A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 419 

the assigning power of rule. As a physiologist, I 
conceive I have done no more than my duty in this 
record, however presently useless some of its mi- 
nutiae may be. Much of the accumulated wealth of 
science is not at interest ; but the borrowers may 
one day come. I am ready to admit, that some dis- 
tinctions in this history, may be practically disre- 
garded. Thus I have described the several forms 
of stress as palpably differing functions ; and they 
are absolutely so made in speech : yet I have not 
ventured to insist on the importance of the differ- 
ence in all cases. So in the discrimination of the in- 
tervals of the scale, I have endeavoured to give the 
true physiological account of these functions : but I 
have not taken upon me to exclude the fourth, sixth 
and seventh from the speaking voice. Nor would 
I wish it to be thought that the several intervals, 
may not on some occasions, be all used as substitutes 
for each other, without affecting the force or preci- 
sion of speech. I was also far from ascribing parti- 
cular expressions to the numerous possible forms of 
the wave. 

In thus opening the way for a change of elocu- 
tion from an imitative art, with its inherent de- 
fects, to a science with all its constituent usefulness 
and beauty, it was necessary to set forth every ex- 
isting function : that the materials might thereby 
be furnished towards the future establishment of a 
system of instruction, for those who have the rare 
aim in scholarship of seeking high accomplishment, 
through the abundant encompassing of principles, 
and the condensing economy of systematic means. 



420 A RECAPITULATING VIEW OF EMPHASIS. 

That the inquiry into this subject has produced 
much that will be imperceptible to the first scruti- 
nies of the general ear, I must be convinced from 
the past history of human improvement. The work 
of vocal mystery, has been at all times so despair- 
ingly abandoned, as beyond the reach of analytic 
perception, that this supposed impossibility alone 
will form a heavier argument against its admission, 
than the real but surmountable difficulty of encoun- 
tering nature in new fields of sensation. Many who 
in fine organization of ear, and a capability of de- 
licate analysis, possess the means of successful in- 
vestigation will, too probably, shrink from the la- 
bours of experiment, and seek to justify infirmity of 
resolution, by defensively assuming the hopeless- 
ness of trial. 



SECTION XLV 

Of the Drift of the Voice. 

He who listens to a good reader, may perceive 
that his voice is not only adapted to the varying in- 
dications of the sentiments which lie in individual 
words, but that there is a style in the movement 
which runs through the parts or the whole of a dis- 
course ; is accommodated to its reigning sentiment 
or spirit ; is identical during the prevalence of that 
spirit, and changes with its variations. Every one 
recognises this difference in manner between a fa- 
cetious description, and a solemn invocation from 
the pulpit ; between the vehement stress of anger, 
and the well known whining of complaint. It is to 
this continuation of the same style, whatever the re- 
peated element or elements may be, that I apply 
the term Drift of the voice. 

I shall not pretend to describe any new modes 
of utterance ; for on this point there is nothing 
which is not familiar to us all, by sound, and expres- 
sive effect. I am about to analyze the various drifts 
of discourse, and refer them to the proper causa- 
tive elements ; that in this essential part of elocu- 
tion the scholar may have a definite perception of 
his duty, and a knowledge of all the means by which 
it is to be accomplished. This subject is not unne- 
cessarily specified by a name ; nor is it uselessly 



422 0F THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 

offered to the special attention of the reader : for if 
a particular drift is required throughout a portion 
of discourse, or the whole of it, any interruption of 
the assumed tenor, will offend the ear ; or at least 
will be a failure of the aims of elocution. Thus, 
when the sentiment is plaintive and consequently 
demands the semitonic intonation, the introduction of 
a tone or second will be no less disagreeable, than 
an offence against time and tune in music. 

The real existence and effective operation of 
drift being admitted, the question before us is — upon 
what functions of the voice is it founded ; and how 
many different forms may it employ ? 

I have described all the functions of the voice 
which are known to me ; the nature of drift must, 
therefore, in my view, resolve into the enumerated 
accidents of speech, and their specific divisions. 
For it is only by the repetition of the several ele- 
ments that this sameness of impression can be pro- 
duced. These elements have been spoken of with 
regard to their individual construction, their ex- 
pressive meaning, and their application in the limi- 
ted sphere of emphasis. Our present view of them 
comprehends their distinguishing effect in the cur- 
rent of melody. 

The question,-howmany different styles the drift 
may assume, will be answered by ascertaining which 
of the elements can be heard in succession on any in- 
definite number of syllables, without offending the 
ear by monotony : for there are some which cannot 
be repeated without producing a disagreeable ef- 
fect. As a general proposition, it may be asserted 



OF THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 42S 

that most of the specific forms of time, stress and 
intonation, may, as occasion requires, be applied in 
continuation without violating propriety or taste. 
There are again, some elements which we dare 
employ only on a few or on solitary syllables, and 
which cannot therefore make a drift in discourse. 

On the subject of this successive use of the ele- 
ments, it is necessary to remark, that though the 
peculiar character of the drift may be sustained 
throughout a whole sentence, yet the function which 
produces it, can in some cases, be executed only 
on certain syllables. Thus, in the expression of dig- 
nity by means of long quantities, the unaccented 
syllables cannot bear a protracted time : still the 
characterof dignity will prevail, even with this limi- 
ted application. 

Let us enumerate the various kinds of drift. 

The Diatonic DRIFT.— The diatonic melody 
was said to be that mode of utterance which is used 
for simple narrative or description, and is destitute 
of the marked expression which respectively be- 
longs to question, argument and passion. The style 
of this melody is produced by the concrete rise of 
a tone, and by a change of radical pitch through the 
same interval. The employment of any other ele- 
ment in discourse of this kind, would be disagree- 
able. Suppose, for instance, an advertisement in a 
Gazette, to be read with the solemn drift of a pro- 
tracted quantity, or in the plaintive style of the 
semitone ; no one would be in doubt concerning 
this improper application of time and intonation. 

In the course of the diatonic melody, the upward 



424 OF THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE 

concretes predominate. The downward vanish of 
the second, is however, occasionally introduced for 
variety, but as far as I have observed, this element 
does not constitute a drift. 

The continuation of the simple concrete of the 
second, is the most common form of utterance. 

The DRIFT of the Semitone. — I said enough for- 
merly on the subject of the chromatic melody ; it 
exemplifies the present head. This style is spread 
throughout discourse of a plaintive, tender, and 
supplicating character. It was proved in its proper 
place, that every interval was practicable on every 
kind of quantity. The semitone, therefore, in its 
drift, is heard on every syllable however short : 
and even though unaccented. 

The DRIFT of the Downward Vanish. It 

was said the falling second is not used as a drift. 
The downward third and fifth are frequently heard 
in continuation. Their currents express surprise 
and conviction, and when enforced by stress, a 
warmth of conviction and temper. The following 
indignant argument from the pleading of Volumnia 
in Coriolanus bears the downward third throughout 

Come let us go : 
This fellow had a Volcian to his mother: 
His wife is in Corioli, and this child 
Like him by chance : — 

The DRIFT of the Wave of the Second.— This 
element is used in continuation on long quantities, 
for occasions of solemn, deliberate, and dignified 
speech. I do not say this wave may not be passed 
through on syllables of moderately protracted time. 



OP THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 495 

and even on those which we have called mutable : 
but it is on long-drawn or indefinite quantities that 
the effects ascribed to it as a drift, become conspicu- 
ous. 

The DRIFT of the Wave of the Semitone.— This 
is the most common form of the semitonic style ; 
since the sentiments associated with the chromatic 
melody generally call for slow time and long quan- 
tities. Upon the subject of this and of the preceding 
head, we must bear in mind that both the direct 
and inverted modes of these waves are used inter- 
changeably in their respective melodies. 

Of the DRIFT of Quantity—The most attrac- 
tive styles of speech are formed of the accident of 
Time. In discourse containing the sentiments of 
gaiety, mirth, anger, and other similar emotions, 
the utterance is quick, and this is generally com- 
bined with the simple concrete of the second, to- 
gether with the radical or vanishing stress. The 
drift of long quantities is set on solemn, plaintive, 
and dignified composition. 

One might make a threefold division of the tem- 
poral Drift ; into that of quick, median and slow 
time. 

Of the DRIFT of Radical Stress.— I formerly 
pointed out the sentiments which require this radi- 
cal symbol in single instances. But these sentiments 
are sometimes found in continuation ; and the ele- 
ment of force which they assume, communicates to 
utterance, a general character, which distinguishes 
it from all other kinds of drift. 

Of the DRIFT of the Median Stress.— This is 
3 1 



426 OF THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 

necessarily connected with long quantities; and 
generally with the wave of the second and semitone- 
It does not make a style very distinguishable from 
that of these last named elements : for a protracted 
time is always the sign of that dignity which re- 
quires the smooth grace of this median swell. 

Of the DRIFT of the Vanishing Stress.— This 
element was shown to be applicable to all the in- 
tervals of the scale. But as a drift it can be employ- 
ed only on the rise and wave of the second and semi- 
tone, and on the downward third and fifth. The 
vanishing stress whether in the diatonic or chro- 
matic melody marks a considerable degree of en- 
ergy in sentiment ; and communicates to the cur- 
rent of discourse a style of utterance which cannot 
be mistaken. 

Of the DRIFT of Force.— Loudness and Soft- 
ness when respectively heard in continuation, do 
certainly impress the ear with their distinct pecu- 
liarities, and may therefore constitute styles of utter- 
ance. And the failure to fulfil the demands of sen- 
timent on either of these points, must be recorded 
among the faults of speech. Who will not admit that 
there are some occasions, on which the drift of com- 
parative softness of voice, would be entirely ridi- 
culous : and others again, on which that of loudness 
would be disgusting bombast ! 

These ten modes of drift are the leading means 

by which certain readily cognizable features are 

given to speech, and which may be spread over the 

whole of a discourse. 

Of the other elements none are allowable in that 



OF THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 427 

continuation which would justify their being enu- 
merated among the current styles. And yet the 
application of some of them to phrases, extends so 
much beyond the limits of emphasis, that they de- 
serve a place next in order to the real drifts. If the 
reader is disposed to give them a name, founded 
on their nature, they might be called Partial drifts, 
thus : 

The Partial DRIFT of the Tremor.— I have hint- 
ed that the tremulous movement is proper only on 
short passages, passages of syllabic crying if I might 
so speak : but that it would be monotonous if kept 
up through a long line of discourse. And here let 
it be understood that though a drift is by its nature 
a monotony, or continuance of the same voice ; still 
it is rather satisfactorily expressive, than disagreea- 
ble when made on certain elements. The tremor 
however is not one of them. 

Of the Partial DRIFT of the Aspiration.— The 
sentiments which give rise to this symbol are like 
those of the preceding head, generally limited to 
temporary portions of melody. When so applied, 
the character of utterance justly entitles it to the 
name of drift. 

Of the Partial DRIFT of the Guttural Emphasis. 
— The scornful feeling which calls for this element, 
is sometimes continued for more than the time and 
the solitary occasions of emphasis ; and thus makes 
a partial drift. 

Of the DRIFT of Interrogation.— The reader 
may recollect that the third, fifth and octave, are the 
intervals of intonation in a question. The partial 



428 0F THE DRIFT OF THE voice. 

form of their use in interrogation so rarely exceeds 
the employment of them in emphasis, that they can 
scarcely in this case be entitled to the name cf 
drift. But in those questions which are of declara- 
tive construction, or that otherwise demand the 
thorough intonation, the predominance of these 
wide and impressive intervals gives that peculiar 
character which the common ear at once perceives 
and comprehends. Still as questions are but por- 
tions of discourse, and as these high intervals are 
never used in continuation for any other purpose, 
this form of drift must be considered as partial. 

Of the Partial DRIFT of the Phrases of Melody, 
—The Monotone and the phrase of alternation are 
sometimes severally used in continuation on certain 
portions of discourse, of greater extent than those 
to which these phrases are appropriate, in the plain 
and more common construction of the current me- 
lody. In a former section peculiar expressions were 
ascribed to these two phrases when continuously 
employed : consequently when such a condition of 
the melody occurs, it gives, according to its nature, 
the partial drift of the monotone or alternation. 

It may be made a question,— how far Quality of 
voice, when given to a part or the whole of dis- 
course, might constitute a drift. The fulness and 
force of the orotund may impart to utterance a cha- 
racter of dignity which is at once distinguishable 
from the meagre huskiness and forceless efforts of 
an uncultivated voice. 

The compound stress and the loud concrete dif- 
fer so slightly from the radical and vanishing modes 



OP THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 429 

of force, and from each other, that it would be a 
mere refinement to found modes of drift upon them. 
Such then are the elements which may appear 
throughout the whole of a discourse ; or be set re- 
strictively on one or a few sentences. 

There are a few elements of which a drift cannot 
be made. 

It was said that interrogative sentences of the 
Thorough kind might be regarded as carrying a 
partial drift of the third, fifth or octave. But with 
the exception of this case, these intervals are never 
in correct speech used in continuation. 

As the prevalent style of the simple movement 
through these wider ranges of the scale, is forbid- 
den in melody, so the combination of them into the 
higher kinds of wave, cannot be extended beyond 
the limited places of emphasis. There is however 
a drift of this kind observable as a fault in readers : 
nay, some, in their formal efforts, can command no 
other style of intonation. But the least cultivation of 
ear rejects the repetition of these florid elements. 
I need scarcely say, the emphatic vocule cannot 
be made the basis of drift. 

There is a prominent feature in the art of read- 
ing, which seems nearly related to the subject of 
this section. I mean the notable change of voice in 
the transition by a good reader from one paragraph 
or division of discourse to another. It may be sup- 
posed that this point is already included in the 
foregoing history of drift. When any strong or pe- 
culiar sentiment is contained in the new paragraph, 
it will indeed be marked by the required style. But 



430 0F THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 

without seeing the page, we can sometimes per- 
ceive that a reader is passing to a new subject, 
even where there is no striking alteration of ex- 
pression : and where the plain diatonic melody 
continues in use after the transition. 

In such cases the peculiar effect is produced by 
several agencies. First. By the period which pre- 
cedes the change, being made with that most com- 
plete close which we called the prepared cadence. 
This indicates the termination of the subject in 
hand, and thereby implies the introduction of a new 
one. Secondly. By a pause longer than that be- 
tween sentences which are nearly related to each 
other. Thirdly. By the succeeding sentence or pa- 
ragraph beginning at a pitch above or below the 
line of the previous current. Fourthty. By a strik- 
ing effect from the phrases of melody applied to the 
outset of a new topic. 

These vocal indicials make the change of sub- 
ject obvious, in those cases in which a peculiar 
construction of the commencing phrase defers the 
development of its sense, and renders it impossi- 
ble to discover by the few first words, whether the 
proximate sentences are immediately or remotely 
related to each other. 

From a review of this subject, it appears, that 
many of the elements of expression may be in con- 
tinual use, without producing a monotonous effect : 
that some can carry their drift but to a certain 
extent : whilst others do not bear an application 
beyond the solitary place of emphasis. It appears, 
too, that those which are inadmissible as a general 



OF THE DRIFT OF THE VOICE. 43 j 

characteristic, are elements of very striking qual- 
ities, reserved for the higher purposes of emphatic 
distinction. Thus the downward eighth has the most 
impressive eminence ; and is never used in drift. 
The case is similar with the higher forms of the 
wave ; and the rising third, fifth and octave, when 
not employed for interrogation. 

After what has been said, a little attention will 
show that several styles may exist at once in the 
same melody. Thus the drifts of the second, of 
short time, of the radical or the vanishing stress, 
and of loudness may be united. In like manner we 
may have a combination of the drifts of the wave 
of the second, of long quantity, of the median stress, 
of loudness or of softness. In short, the reader can 
ascertain which of them may be associated, by 
knowing the compatible qualities of the several 
elements : for they are united in the practice of the 
voice, in every possible way. 

I have not thought it necessary to give extracts 
from authors to illustrate the various kinds of drift. 
After all that has been said of the accidents of the 
voice and their species, in former sections, together 
with the foregoing history of their application in a 
continued style of speech, I need not waste time 
on those explanations which the intelligence of the 
reader will easily supply. For I am not less soli- 
citous to restrict the number of the pages of this 
essay, than to extend the measure of its instruction. 



SECTION XLVI. 

Of the Vocal Signs of the Passions. 

I have already given a physiological description 
of the functions of the voice, and have pointed out 
their expressive powers as far as they denote sim- 
ple thought, sentiment, feeling, emotion, or any 
other named condition of the mind. This should 
satisfy the reader ; since it describes in its own gen- 
eral way, all that to me, at least, is audible and ca- 
pable of measurement. But former systems of elo- 
cution having embraced an inquiry, however fruit 
less, on the delineation of the passions in speech ; 
such a view, though superfluous after what has been 
said, may perhaps be demanded at my hand. 

There is a hypocritical compliment always paid 
to originality, the contradictory spirit of which is, 
that mankind are eager to receive what is new, pro- 
vided it is told in the old way. I can imagine that 
a few readers, even after all I have said on the ele- 
ments of expression and the states of mind repre- 
sented by them, may still object, that there is noth- 
ing said about the passions. Now, having done my 
duty to the subject by saying in a general way what 
was necessary, about the thing, I am going to satis- 
fy a prejudice by a formal detail under the word. 
But let it be distinctly understood, that this is done 
only for the purpose of giving another aspect to 



OF THE VOCAL SIGNS OP THE PASSIONS. 433 

the subject of expression ; and not in a forced or 
politic submission to any expected perversity of cri- 
ticism. I observe and write for those who have the 
candour and comprehension to admit a history of 
the development of nature, even though they may 
not be at the pains to make the discovery for them- 
selves. And I hope it may always be far from my 
wishes, to bring into subjection to prejudice or ha- 
bitual opinion or authority, that pure right and truth 
and energy of philosophy which will always bear 
rule when suffered to operate : that philosophy 
which weak men compliment, by coveting its hon- 
ors, and by wearing it as the livery of pretension : 
and which would, ere now, have been effectually 
employed to make us both wiser and happier than 
we are, if a perfect home-bred contentment did not 
prevent its votaries from urging its benefits on the 
unwilling world, with all that art and perseverance 
through which stirring vanity, that knows no re- 
tired comfort, forces its worthless labors on man- 
kind. 

I took upon me (it is hoped not presumptuously,) 
in the introduction, to represent our knowledge in 
some of the departments of elocution, as limited ; 
and I have adhered to an early resolution to avoid 
quotation, not only because the thing in itself is a 
very tiresome duty, but because in these depart- 
ments there is much that is unintelligible, and more 
that is erroneous. I am now about to leave, for a 
moment, the beautiful prototype of nature, to con- 
trast her lights, with the mysterious shades of the 
opinions of men. 
3 K 



434 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

No author, I believe, has paid more attention to 
the intonation of the voice, particularly as regards its 
practical application, than Mr. Walker. Indefinite 
as he is on this point, he far exceeds in precision 
and useful rule, all that is said by Aristotle, Cicero, 
Dionysius, Quinctilian and the old musicians. It 
is true, Mr. Walker owes his superficial analysis 
to them : but in his description of the application 
of inflection, if not in the real knowledge of it, he 
fairly tf treads upon that Greek and Roman glory ,*' 
which national vanity first suggested and pro- 
claimed, and the subsequent credulity of Euro- 
pean scholarship was simple enough to magnify 
and repeat. 

But let us hear what Mr. Walker says of the 
vocal representation of the passions. 

" It now remains," observes this author* " to say 
something of the passions and emotions of the speak- 
er. These are entirely independent on the modulation 
of the voice, though often confounded with it : for 
modulation relates only to speaking loudly or soft- 
ly, in a high or in a low key, while the tones of the 
passions or emotions mean only that quality of sound 
that indicates the feelings of the speaker without 
reference to the pitch, or loudness of the voice." 

Again in the hundred and sixty-sixth page. 

" The truth is, the expression of passion or emo- 
tion consists in giving a distinct and specific quality 
to the sounds we use, rather than in increasing or 
diminishing their quantity, or in giving this quan- 
tity any \ocal direction." 

* Elements of Elocution, page S08. Am. Ed. 



OF THE PASSIONS. 435 

And again in an other work.* 

" As to the tones of the passions which are so 
many and so various, these in the opinion of one of 
the best judges in the kingdom, are qualities of 
sound occasioned by certain vibrations of the or- 
gans of speech, independent on high, low, loud, soft, 
quick, slow, forcible or feeble." 

It often happens with the aspirants after science 
in the schools, as it did with those who underwent 
the mummery of admission to the mysteries of Eleu- 
sis, — to hear themselves addressed in an incompre- 
hensible language. What for instance can be made 
of this definition? — " The tones of the passions 
mean only that quality of sound that indicates the 
feelings." Here instead of an explanatory descrip- 
tion of a thing, we are presented with a truism in 
a paraphrase. For, as the terms passions and feel- 
ings are here synonymous, as well as those of tone 
and quality of sound, the proposition may stand 
thus: " the tones of the (or the tones which indicate 
the) passions, mean only the tones whicli indicate 
the passions-." or with less waste thus ; " the tones 
of the passions are the tones of the passions." 

But the second extract seems to contain a real 
distinction between the subject and the predicate : 
because by quality the author may mean that acci- 
dent of sound, which in this essay was specified by 
the terms full, harsh, soft, slender, natural, false tte, 
whisper and orotund; for these are the only existing 
qualities of sound, besides those which Mr. Walker 

Observations on Greek and Latin quantity, appended to 
Walker's Key to the. pronunciation of ancient proper names 



43^ OF THE VOCAL SIGNS 

has excluded from the definition. But if pitch, which 
is here meant by local direction, be denied a place 
among the vocal symbols of passion, what shall we 
say of the comprehensive class which uses the pitch 
of the semitone? of the rising intervals which sig- 
nify interrogation? of the downward vanish which 
conspicuously marks the various degrees of sur- 
prise? and in short, what is to be said of the effect 
of the various degrees of stress, if forcible and feeble 
have nothing to do with the passions ? 

But the secret cause of this determination to ex- 
clude intonation and stress and time,from among the 
signs of the passions ; and the reiterated attempts 
to resolve their symbols into a certain unexplained 
word called quality, is clearly manifested in the last 
quotation: for here this opinion on the physical agen- 
cy of quality is ascribed to "one of the best judges 
in the kingdom." The fact is, this confused notion 
concerning the passions was adopted upon authority, 
by Mr. Walker : and this mode of faith, certainly 
did not accord with his repeated claims to origi- 
nality of observation. An original observer holding 
himself responsible for his report, cross questions 
the testimony of his senses : but the borrower of 
opinions is less scrupulous, because he never stands 
security against the folly or mischief of his promul- 
gations. 

What has been recorded in the previous history 
may induce the reader to smile at the above quo- 
tations; and enable him to perceive that the sym- 
bols of the passions, consist of the quality or force or 
abruptness or time or pitch of the voice ; and that 



OF THE PASSIONS 437 

the greater part of those symbols are derived from 
those very accidents, which are declared by Mr. 
Walker to be unoperative in the causation of empas- 
sioned utterance. With regard to the specific quality 
here assumed as the vocal material of expression, I 
am utterly at a loss to understand whether those 
modes of sound which are called qualities in this 
essay, are the same which are meant by Mr. Wal- 
ker's term; since his account of quality is complica- 
ted with an attempt to derive its proximate cause, 
from an unintelligible system of vibrations. 

Let the whole pass as an instance of that unnatu- 
ral paternity in instruction, which when asked for 
bread, dispenses nothing but a stone. And at the 
same time let it justify any unbecoming expressions 
which may have escaped me, when unavoidably 
brought in contact with those errors of indolence 
or authority, which are almost unpardonable. 

In recapitulating the subject of expression under 
another title, it is not my intention to go into a dis- 
sertation on the nature of the passions, or to contend 
with authors about the scheme of their arrangement. 
I shall give that account of them which will answer 
the purpose of the present section, without design- 
ing to regard other relationships which they may 
hold. 

The human mind is the place of representation 
of all the existences of nature which are brought 
within the scope of the senses. These representa- 
tives are called ideas. These ideas are the simple 
passive pictures of things ; or they exist with an ac- 
tivity, capable of so affecting the physical organs as 



4$S 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

to induce us to seek the continuance of that which 
produces them ; or to avoid it. This active or vivid 
class of ideas, comprehends the passions. The func- 
tions of the mind here described, exist then in dif- 
ferent forms and degrees, from the simple idea, to 
the highest energy of passion : and the terms, 
thought, sentiment, emotion, feeling and passion 
are but the verbal signs of these degrees and forms. 
Nor does there appear to be any line of classifica- 
tion, for separating thought from passion : since sim- 
ple thoughts without changing their nature, do from 
interest or other incitement often assume the color 
of a passion. 

Such being one of the many views which may 
be taken of ideas, we pass to the consideration of 
the effects produced on the physical organs by 
those thoughts or feelings, constituting their sensi- 
ble signs or expression. These signs are various, 
but we are at present concerned only with those 
belonging to the organs of the voice. 

Some of those conditions of the mind which we 
have called passions are possessed by man in com- 
mon with the inferior animal creation. These have 
their expression seated conspicuously in the voice 
and in other muscular functions. 

Again, some states of mind are the product of hu- 
man cultivation and of the social relations. These 
are destitute of such signs as nature seems to have 
allotted to her own original creations. Thus, there 
are natural expressions both in the vocal organs 
and in other parts of the body, for pain, surprise, 



OF THE PASSIONS. 439 

and ansrer ; but none of any definite character for 
hope, contentment and gratitude. 

From this view we learn that there are two es- 
sentially different modes of expressing the various 
states of mind : since some of these thoughts, emo- 
tions, passions, call them what we will, are made 
by certain forms of stress, time, quality and pitch, 
joined to syllabic utterance ; whilst others can be 
indicated only by conventional terms, which do not 
carry any of the natural vocal-signs of expression. 
Thus we signify surprise by the downward em- 
phasis, and complaint by the semitone *, and the 
meaning of these symbols is the same in all nations : 
but we can express a sentiment of gratitude or ir- 
resolution only b) describing our state of mind, in 
those arbitrarily appointed terms which may vary 
in every different language. 

Though it appears we have not a peculiar vocal 
sign for every state of mind, yet it is to be remarked 
that all thoughts or passions may be expressed by 
the conventional language: for one can tell another, 
he is astonished, in the most simple style of intona- 
tion, and thus conve} the knowledge of the exist- 
ence of that sentiment, as well as he can by the 
most striking use of the downward octave, which 
is its natural symbol. When astonishment is to be 
represented on a word or phrase, which does not 
describe it, it is necessary to employ the peculiar 
intonation which indicates this sentiment. 

One of the consequences of there being instinc- 
tive signs in the voice, for the expression of the 
passions, and artificial signs in language, for the 



440 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

same purpose, is that one vocal function can repre- 
sent two or more passions, or degrees of passion 
which have severally appropriate names; for though 
the kind of intonation is the same, and therefore in 
itself cannot denote different species or shades of 
meaning, yet the conventional terms serve to mark 
the variety. Suppose for instance, one should say 
" I am surprised," with the strongest downward 
vanish of the octave: and again, he should say 
with the same intonation " I am astonished ;" the 
different states of mind in these two emotions of 
surprise and astonishment, would be clearly repre- 
sented, under this identical intonation, by the ar- 
bitrary signs or the terms of these emotions. Thus 
too the same semitone is used for the expression of 
pain, discontent, pity, grief and contrition : and yet 
in all these cases the different sentiments are con- 
veyed by their conventional denomination, or by the 
sense of the phrase on which the semitone is em- 
ployed.* 

* A union of the verbal and the vocal modes of expression, if I 
may thus distinguish them, seems to be so essential that it is dif- 
ficult to determine which is most significant in conveying the 
sentiments of the speaker. The power of giving a different 
meaning to the same word, by its mode of stress or intonation, 
would imply that the instinctive signs are more effective than 
the conventional. But there are other circumstances which war- 
rant a conclusion that we are as much indebted to the descrip- 
tive agency of words, as to any abstract movement of the voice. 

I shall hereafter show in the analysis of song, that every func- 
tion of speech is employed in its higher style of execution : and 
though it is true that the semitonic movement in song has a plain- 
tive expression, even when unconnected with words, still the 
rising and falling concretes of the third, fifth and octave, when 



OF THE PASSIONS. 441 

I have had occasion more than once to show that 
the elements of expression are always applied in 
combination. There must be at least two conjoined 

not joined to discourse which coincides in sentiment with the 
expression of these intervals, are constantly heard in song, with- 
out producing the audible characteristics of interrogation, posi- 
tiveness or surprise. The various forms of stress too, which have 
their proper expression in the descriptive form of syllabic utter- 
ance, seem to be almost without meaning in the inarticulate 
movements of song. 

But a still more striking view of the power of language, as 
contrasted with abstract intonation, is displayed in the vocal 
functions of brute animals, and particularly of birds. 

When a familiarity with the analytic scheme of this essay 
will have given to the ear a facility of discrimination, it will 
be perceived that the notes of birds employ all the intervals of 
the concrete movement, without suggesting those expressions of 
surprise, interrogation, positiveness and scorn, together with the 
k-epose of the cadence, which would be eminently conveyed by 
these intervals, when joined with words that describe these se- 
veral sentiments. The representation of piaintiveness by the se- 
mitone, as in the voice of the dove, and of pleasure by the tre- 
mulous scale, as in the horse when snuffing his food, is indeed 
made without a syllabic sign, and yet is identical with the dis- 
play of these feelings in the human voice ; but it must be recol- 
lected that our uses of this function in laughter and crying, are 
generally inarticulate and are thus merely animal signs. 

It is then the union of an arbitrary verbal description of a 
sentiment, with the natural sign of it, which forms the true sym- 
bol of expression in the human voice. 

Having alluded to the voices of inferior animals, I must beg 
the reader to excuse a momentary digression from the subject 
of speech. In the course of this essay I might have shown many 
analogies between the human voice, and that of inferior animals: 
but I designed to avoid mingling these two subjects of natural 
history. 

Speech is but an aggregate of the functions which are dispers- 
3 L 



442 OF T HE VOCAL SIGNS 

and there may be more. Thus the different forms 
of stress are necessarily made on an interval of 
pitch : it is the same with guttural emphasis and as- 

edly exercised, by all animals: for there is scarcely a mode of 
quality, abruptness, time, force and intonation, which is not 
common to man and to the brute. Man possesses more vocal 
signs than any one species of animal, but perhaps less than all: 
the principal difference consisting in his power over the struc- 
ture and chain of the syllabic function. 

Upon the ground of this identity, and with the light of the 
describable measurement, and definite nomenclature of the hu- 
man voice which is set forth in this essay, — What is there to 
prevent the voices of animals being taken into view, in the sys- 
tematic arrangements of Zoology? 

Naturalists have sometimes attempted this in a rude way, by 
a reference to alphabetic sounds, and to the modes of time and 
stress in words and phrases. When boys find a resemblance in 
the whistle of the partridge to the words "bob white;" and 
when they think they pronounce the short song of the "whip- 
poor-will" in its name, the similarity lies in the stress and in 
the time of utterance ; for this song as well as many mechanical 
noises resembles at the whim of the listener, any phrase which 
has an equal number of syllable-like impulses, and the same con- 
dition of quantity and accent. 

Birds in the endowments of voice, have a Single note, a Phrase 
of two or more notes, and a continued song which may be dis- 
tinctively called their Melody. Some birds have only the note ; 
others, the note and phrase ; and a few, the note, phrase and 
melody. Now I am sure that a person of cultivated ear, with 
the light of classification and description contained in this essay, 
would find no great difficulty in discovering whether the note of 
a bird is in the concrete or radical pitch of a semitone, a second 
or other interval ; of how many movements the phrase consists, 
and what are their places of pitch ; and of what combination of 
phrases the melody is made. As far as observation extends we 
know that the voice of birds is unchangeable in the species: it 
is therefore as well entitled to nomenclature, provided it can be 
assigned definitely, as the feathers, beak and claws. If analysis 



OF THE PASSIONS. 443 

piration. The intervals of pitch must be united 
with the accident of time, whether the quantity be 
long or short. Not one vocal element can exist se- 

had never furnished discriminative names for colors and form, 
even these characteristics, like those of the voice would never 
have been known in the descriptions of ornithology. 

Without extending our observations to the whole range of ani- 
mals, among which all the accidents of the human voice, even to 
the peculiar note of song and recitative are found, I here give 
an outline of the vocal functions of the Mocking-bird, as illus- 
trative of the powers which generally belong to its class. 

The Mocking-bird has every variety and degree in Quality of 
voice from the delicate chirp of the sparrow, and harsh scream 
of the jay, to the guttural base of the clucking of the hen. He 
uses every form of time, from a mere point of sound, to the du- 
ration of our most passionate interjections. He has a perfect 
command over all the intervals of the scale, both ascending and 
descending, and in the discrete as well as the concrete pitch. 
His simple concrete exhibits the most beautiful structure of the 
radical and vanish. He performs the wave in its equal and un- 
equal, its direct and inverted forms, through all intervals : but 
I cannot say that he uses its double movement. He exhibits all 
the modes of stress on the concrete, which belong to the human 
voice. Its compound species which constitutes the proper vocal 
shake, he has in great perfection. It is the diatonic shake, the 
semitonic not being found in his song, nor, as far as I know, in 
that of any other bird. He makes great use of the tremor, both, 
in a continued line of pitch, and in every diverse movement 
through the scale. His tremor has not the chromatic character, 
as far as I recollect it ; for my observation of the bird has been 
transient, and never with a view to the present record. Some 
other birds have a tremor of a plaintive expression. The struc- 
ture of his song is that of note, phrase and melody. His melody 
however is very short: the apparent continuity of its powerful 
and rapid evolutions consisting of an endless permutation of 
notes and short phrases ; for I have not been able to perceive any 
formal order in their succession*. 



444 OF THE VOCAL SIGNS 

parately ; but several are sometimes combined in 
a single act of utterance : for we may have under 
one syllabic impulse, a long quantity, a wide inter- 
It may thus be seen that the vocal elements of the Mocking- 
bird, like those of the human organs, are few in number ; but in 
each case our ignorance of their analysis has created a belief 
that they are infinite. The union of their combinable forms 
makes them appear more numerous than they are : thus a cer- 
tain quality or interval, maybe heard in succession under every 
variety of time ; and the same concrete, or tremor or shake is 
heard upon one breath, in several different qualities, and in as 
many different places of pitch. 

The doctrine of the signs of the passions in speech, is strictly 
applicable to the voices of inferior animals, as regards those 
sounds which are purely vocal and separate from words. Thus 
it will be found that the repeated single note, which seems to be 
the idle and unmeaning voice of birds, is generally a short quan- 
tity, and made in a single rising or falling radical and vanish 
through a second or higher interval. A prolongation of note is 
generally connected with their passions and appetites. Pain, 
love and fear, are always exhibited in the movement of the se- 
mitone. But I am agreeably led on towards an arrangement, 
when I designed only to suggest the scheme to others. 

The subject is at least curious, if not useful. It lies out of my 
way. Naturalists who ought to live in the fields, may have it : 
and I shall be happy to assist them, when it is in my power. 
We have in all sciences large volumes of compilation; let us 
have from some physiologist with a good ear, a little book of ori- 
ginal truth on the matter here proposed. Let it be done with 
sober observation and watchfulness. Let the author not lose his 
strong breath of usefulness and fame, by a puerile precipitancy 
after reputation : nor hasten with his unripeness, in the market- 
like fear of being forestalled. Patient and enthusiastic study, 
independent observation and thought, and a disinterested love 
of truth, with their sure anSgreat results in science, are always 
solitary in an age, and cannot therefore be forestalled — and on 
this point, as in promises and declarations of another kind to 
man, « the Last shall be First'* 



OF THE PASSIONS. 445 

val, aspiration, and some one of the modes of stress, 
all simultaneous in effecting a particular purpose 
of expression. 

I now go on to give a summary of the modes of 
thought, variously called, sentiments, emotions, 
feelings and passions, which are severally signified 
by their instinctive or appointed vocal symbols. 

Of Feebleness of Voice. — This element of expres- 
sion is contradistinguished from strength or loud- 
ness, and is here spoken of as a Drift, or as applied 
in continuation to discourse. There are some states 
of mind connected with feebleness of body, that are 
properly portrayed by feebleness of voice. The 
expression here in view does not admit of the 
higher intervals of intonation, nor of the impressive 
modes of stress ; for these, and indeed other ele- 
ments which might be mentioned, imply an energy 
of mind and body which by the very terms of this 
head of our subject is excluded from its signs. Some 
of the conditions and sentiments requiring a feeble 
voice, are humility, modesty, shame, doubt, irreso- 
lution, apathy, fatigue, caution and tranquillity. 
These generally employ the simple diatonic me- 
lody : but there are some emotions, which together 
with feebleness, use the semitone, and the wave of 
the second. Of this kind are grief, pity and awe. 

Of Loudness of Voice. — This element as the re- 
verse of the last, is appropriated to states of mind 
which are associated with great muscular energy, 
and vivid degrees of passion. There are a great 
many sentiments signified by this symbol ; for be- 
sides those which employ it as the leading charac- 



446 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

teristic of the expression, such as rage, wrath, dan- 
ger and horror, there are some that depend, for 
their expression chiefly on intonation or stress, 
which do at the same time assume the character of 
loudness. Of this class are astonishment 3 exultation 
and laughter. 

Of Quickness of Voice. — In as much as quickness 
of the current melody generally goes with a short 
quantity in individual syllables, I shall not make 
separate heads for these two functions. Some of 
the examples under this head are found in others, 
particularly in the last ; as rage, wrath, mirth, rail- 
lery and impatience. It also happens that many of 
the sentiments which have their principal signs in 
forms of intonation and stress, are associated also 
with quickness of voice. 

Of Slowness of Voice. — A slow time of discourse, 
if not made by long quantities on single syllables, 
would be offensive from its pauses. These two forms 
of time therefore necessarily involve each other. 
Slowness of time and long quantity are generally 
joined with the element of the wave ; for the return 
or contrary flexure of intervals is one of the means of 
producing a long time without violating the equable 
concrete of speech. It is an essential constituent in 
dignified utterance, and is therefore always united 
with those functions of intonation which bear this 
expression : Slowness of time, with its constituent 
long quantity, is used as the symbol of many emo- 
tions or passions j among which may be enume- 
rated sorrow, grief, respect, veneration, dignity. 



OF THE PASSIONS. 447 

apathy, contrition and all other sentiments that em- 
brace the idea of deliberation. 

0] Quality of Voice. — I have more than once 
spoken of the quality or kind of voice. I need not 
here repeat all the terms by which its species are 
commonly noted. But the following are some of 
them, with the passions annexed. Harshness is af- 
fected by anger and imperative authority : softness, 
by grief, modesty and commiseration. The whisper, 
which is a kind of voice, by secrecy : the falsette is 
heard in the whine of peevishness, in the high pitch 
of the tremor in mirth, and in the piercing scream 
of terror. The full body of the orotund, in a cul- 
tivated speaker, gives the satisfactory expression 
to all those sentiments which are grounded in so- 
lemn grandeur. 

Of the Semitone. — The simple rise of the semi- 
tone is rather an unfrequent element of expression ; 
since most of those passions which call for its plain- 
tive intonation, and there are many of this kind, re- 
quire a long quantity and consequently are proper- 
ly expanded into the wave of this interval. Still 
complaint, grief, and the other emotions of like im- 
port, may sometimes be made with an earnestness 
or spirit which takes on a short time. In this case 
the voice cannot bear the delay of the wave, and ef- 
fects all the purposes of the semitonic intonation by 
the simple rise or fall through the concrete, with 
the addition, if it is necessary, of the radical or van- 
ishing stress. 

Of the Second or Tone. — All those states of mind 
which accompany what may be called mere thought 



44H OF ™ E VOCAL SIGNS 

in contradistinction to passion ; all those narratives 
or descriptions which represent things as they are 
in themselves, without reference to our relation- 
ships to them, on the point of pleasure or pain, 
desire or aversion, interest or injury \ these are all 
represented by the plain unobtrusive element of 
the second. 

The other elements of expression have some- 
thing striking in their character which the atten- 
tive student may easily recognise. When, there- 
fore, none of these are obvious, he may conclude 
that the current of speech is in the diatonic melo- 
dy ; that is, the syllabic utterance, is through the 
rise and fall of a single tone. 

Of the Rising Third, Fifth and Octave. — I have 
thrown these intervals into the same class because 
they are generally used to express different de- 
grees of a passion. They represent, according to 
the extent of the interval employed, interrogation 
under the different features of dignity and of earn- 
estness. They mark admiration, and hence are fre- 
quently used as means for emphatic distinctions. 
When united with aspiration they do the part of 
the downward intervals of the scale, and indicate 
surprise and its congenial emotions. They express 
a conditional sense when used on emphatic words. 
The octave has the power of raillery, of quaintness 
and of mockery. When the guttural emphasis is 
united with these intervals, particularly the higher, 
it adds scorn to a question ; and joins to their cha- 
racter in emphasis, the sentiments of haughtiness, 
disdain, indignation, contempt and scorn. The de- 



OF THE PASSIONS. 449 

liberate execution of these high intervals requires 
long quantity in syllables : but in their simple rise, 
they have not that protracted duration, and conse- 
quently that solemn and dignified character which 
belongs to them when doubled into the form of the 
wave. 

Of the Doivnward Third, Fifth and Octave. — In 
general description we may say, these intervals 
severally express different degrees of the same 
passions. They are emphatically appropriated as 
the signs of surprise, astonishment, wonder and 
amazement ; and though the terms of these emo- 
tions, are by no means sy nonimous, still the emotions 
themselves are each and all effectually represent- 
ed by any one of the above named intervals. The 
designation of the specific difference being made 
by the conventual meaning of the words on which 
the element is employed, and not by any power of 
intonation ; for this, by the condition of the cases 
here considered, is identical in each instance. These 
downward intervals denote a positiveness of mind ; 
and a settled conviction on the part of the speaker : 
hence they are given to phrases significative of au- 
thority, command, confidence, and satisfaction. A 
downward movement is, as we have seen, the sym- 
bol of a pause in the sense, at the place of a ca- 
dence : and consequently is well suited to express 
those sentiments which have some affinity with that 
state of repose ; such as resignation, despair, and 
the condition of mind that attends fatigue. 

Of the Wave of the Semitone.— I spoke of the 
simple rise and fall of the semitone : but its return 

3 M 



450 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

or contrary flexure, into the wave, is by far the 
most common form of this expressive element. In- 
deed I do not know a symbol of speech which re- 
presents so many and such various emotions : the 
specific distinction of the cases, depending on the 
phraseology or term in which the emotion is con- 
veyed. The wave of the semitone differs from the 
simple interval, in the dignity of the expression, 
derived from its extended quantity ; and in its en- 
hanced degree, from the repetition of the element 
in a contrary direction. Sorrow, grief, vexation, 
chagrin, repining, contrition, impatience, peevish- 
ness, compassion, mercy, commiseration, condo- 
lence, pity, love, fondness, supplication, fatigue, and 
pain — with all the difference which may exist be- 
tween them, are still expressed by this intonation 
of the wave of the semitone. 

Of the Wave of the Second. — The interval of 
the second, whether in a rising or falling direction, 
being the symbol selected by nature for plain un- 
impassioned discourse, we cannot properly call it 
an element of expression. But as the downward 
return of this element into the form of the wave, 
produces a long quantity, it necessarily adds to the 
second the peculiar effect of that quantity. It is 
this element, when extremely protracted, which 
gives to discourse a full character of dignity, so- 
lemnity and grandeur, without infecting it with the 
vivid coloring which belongs to the other accidents 
of quality, abruptness and force, and to the wider 
intervals of intonation. 

Of the Waves of the Third, Fifth and Octave.— 



OF THE PASSIONS. 45 ^ 

The forms of the wave are so various, that it would 
far exceed the elementary purpose of this work to 
attempt to enumerate them, and to assort them 
with the passions. I sufficiently unfolded, in a for- 
mer section, the principles on which their expres- 
sions depend. The character of the above-named 
intervals in their simple form, has a large influence 
in determining the expression of the wave. The 
upward vanish of the last constituent of the invert- 
ed forms has the force of interrogation •, and the 
downward course of the last constituent of the di- 
rect, carries the expression of surprise. If then 
the wave has the same character as the simple ele- 
ment, without the conjunction of the previous rise 
or fall, what need is there of its existence 1 

It affords the means of giving long quantity to syl- 
lables, and consequently of expressing the design- 
ed emotions with dignity. In the double form, the 
wave denotes sneer, mockery, petulance, contempt 
and scorn : but these two last are more conspicu- 
ously exhibited by conjoining an aspiration with 
the wave. 

Of the Radical Stress. — From what was formerly 
said of this element, we know it to be the means 
for adding increased degrees of impressiveness to 
all the other symbols of the passions which are ca- 
pable of receiving it. Though it is more particu- 
larly employed on immutable syllables, yet when 
a discourse is in quick time, it is the mode of stress 
even on indefinite syllables. Anger, wrath, rage, 
impatience and mirth, are generally uttered in 
quick time, and therefore take on this mode of 



452 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

stress, in emphatic places. It is employed on the 
imperative words of authority; for it has among the 
modes of stress, a degree of positiveness, similar to 
that which is expressed by the downward inter- 
vals, among the modes of intonation. 

Of the Median Stress. — The radical stress was 
shown to be the means for enforcing the sentiments 
which employ short syllables. The median stress 
is the mode of enhancing the power of those which 
demand a long quantity, together with a smooth 
utterance. I speak of the qualification of smooth- 
ness, since long quantities do sometimes for particu- 
lar purposes take on the abrupt opening of the radi- 
cal, or the final jerk, if I may so call it, of the van- 
ishing stress. The states of mind which call for 
the median force, are those represented by the 
waves of the various intervals ; particularly the 
dignity of the wave of the second, and the plain- 
tiveness of that of the semitone. Of these kinds 
are awe, respect, deliberation, solemnity, supplica- 
tion, and reverential submission. It is likewise to 
be remembered that this median stress may be ex- 
ecuted on a simple rise or fall, when it is unusually 
prolonged ; thus the downward vanish of surprise 
may sometimes be invested with this mode of force. 
Of the Vanishing Stress. — So much was said of 
this stress in a former section, and its expression 
was so particularly noticed, that it is unnecessary 
to repeat the detail here. It is a mode of force far 
inferior, in point of dignity, to the last mentioned 
element; but it is sometimes highly effective on 
those words which carry the passions, represented 



OF THE PASSIONS. 453 

by the semitone and higher intervals, such as grief, 
surpr ise and interrogation : for by impressing the 
extremes of these intervals on the ear, it points out 
their several ranges more distinctly than they are 
marked by the natural vanish. 

Of the Compound Stress. — I said formerly that 
this Compound Stress is scarcely distinguishable 
from the thorough stress and the loud concrete. 
These three functions may therefore be embraced 
under the present head. They are indeed separate 
functions of the voice ; but in reference to any prac- 
tical application, it is unnecessary to allot different 
expressions to them. When set on immutable syl- 
lables they are identical in effect, with the radical 
and the vanishing stresses ; nor does their expres- 
sion differ greatly from that of these elements, even 
when heard on longer quantities. Whenever the 
compound stress is clearly made out, which may 
be the case on syllables unusually protracted, the 
expression will be more notable than that of either 
of its two constituent stresses. The three modes of 
force which are here classed together may be con- 
sidered as the proper symbols of energy or violence 
of passion. 

Of the Tremor of the Second and higher Intervals. 
— The tremulous movement, when applied to the 
intervals here named, serves to designate a number 
of sentiments considerably different from each oth- 
er. And here again we have an instance of a prin- 
ciple extensively operative in the expression of 
the passions : for these sentiments, though set with- 
in the same general-frame of intonation, have their 



454 0F THE VOCAL SIGNS 

specific divisions marked by the conventual terms 
which describe them. The tremor of the second 
and higher intervals is shown in the expression of 
exultation, mirth, pride, haughtiness, sneer, derision 
and contempt ; and in effecting these expressions 
this element may move through the simple rise or 
fall, or through the wave. 

Of the Tremor of the Semitone. — The tremulous 
movement through the semitone on a tonic element, 
is the crying voice. When therefore it is used 
in syllabic intonation, it gives a sign of deeper dis- 
tress to the sentiments which are associated with 
the simple semitone. These have already been 
enumerated, and need not now be repeated. All 
of them embrace a greater or less degree of the 
condition of suffering ; and though they may differ 
as widely as the several emotions of grief, tender- 
ness and supplication, each of which carries the 
semitone, yet when they are highly strained or be- 
come excessive, they naturally and alike fall into 
the tremulous intonation. 

Of the Aspiration. — The reduction of the pure 
quality of the tonics and subtonics by a commixture 
with the aspirated element, produces a symbol of 
many and differing states of mind. It always accom- 
panies the force of vociferations ; and is the faint 
sign of secrecy. It is joined with the loud utterance 
of all energetic sentiments, when they are not strain- 
ed into the falsette. It also indicates the emotion of 
earnestness, curiosity, horror, and surprise. I did, 
on a former occasion, assign the expression of con- 
tempt, sneer and scorn to the wave, particularly in 



OF THE PASSIONS. 455 

its unequal form. But even this does not carry the 
full measure of these passions, if the aspiration 
is not mingled with the intonation : and it is still 
further to be remarked that when the aspiration is 
joined with any form of the wave, and with any of 
the simple upward or downward intervals, it com- 
municates to them the power of representing these 
last named passions. 

Of the Guttural Emphasis. — This is a snarling 
element, and therefore belongs to all those states 
of mind which are classed under ill-humour ; in- 
cluding dissatisfaction, peevishness and discontent. 
But it likewise appears in the strained ferocity of 
rage and revenge, and is the common sign of sha- 
ming rebuke. It also has an import of sneer, con- 
tempt and scorn. 

Of the Emphatic Vocule. — This is purely an ele- 
ment of force, and in the particular words which 
admit of it, is the sign of anger and rage, and of ve- 
hemence in any passion. It is however of rare oc- 
currence ; and being almost needless in cultivated 
elocution, ought perhaps to be even more rare than 
it is. 

Of the Broken Melody. — The current melody has 
been represented as a succession of intonations, em- 
ploying every species of interval both in concrete 
and in radical pitch-, and intersected by pauses, 
applied as often as the sense, or a call for vivid de- 
lineation may require. But there are particular 
states of mind which over-rule the occasions, and 
grammatical proprieties of pausing, thereby pro 
ducing notable rests after very short phrases, and 



456 OF THE VOCAL SIGNS 

even after every word of a sentence, without refer 
ence to the connexions of syntax. I use the term 
Broken Melody, to signify those interruptions in 
utterance, which the excess of certain passions 
sometimes creates. 

The nature of this function will be best explained 
by giving the physiological analysis of it. 

In the section on the mechanism of the voice, I 

spoke of two modes of expiration under which 

speech might be made : one resembling an act of 

sighing, by which all the breath is sent forth in a 

simple impulse of short duration, and within which, 

scarcely more than one or two words can be uttered 

with ease. The other mode of expiration is used 

in common speech. Within it, we are able to utter 

whole sentences, by a frugal use of the breath, in 

giving out small portions at a time, for the successive 

syllables. Since the former of these modes, seems 

to draw off all the contents of the lungs, if I may 

so speak, it might be called the Exhausting breath : 

and the latter from its being held back to be dealt 

out as the syllables require it, may be called, for 

the want of a better name, the Holding breath. 

I said formerly in speaking of the orotund voice, 
that an infant learns to speak in the exhausting 
breath. It is likewise the mode of speech when one 
is " out of breath," from exercise : and it appears in 
the extreme debility of disease. Hence in these 
cases, there is often not more than one syllable 
heard in a single act of expiration. The breath on 
which the tremulous movement of laughter and cry- 
ing is executed, is of this kind. I know the tremor 



OF THE PASSIONS. 457 

makes a slight difference in these cases : but if the 
reader will for a moment feign a laugh and a cry, 
he will quickly feel that he laughs and cries him- 
self, if I may so speak, to the bottom of his breath ; 
and that he cannot without an inhaling pause, con- 
tinue the tremulous function, for that prolonged 
period, through which he can carry common speech. 
This state of the respiratory organs which occurs 
in the exhausting breath, is produced by a high de- 
gree of certain feelings. Thus the operation of 
deep distress mvoluntarily creates this kind of ex- 
piration, in the form of a sigh. Now when we are 
under the influence of bodily pain or mental suf- 
fering, the words which come forth, will be borne 
upon the exhausting breath ; that is, there will be 
but one, or at most two or three words to one act of 
expiration: and thus by the intersections of repeated 
pauses the broken melody will be produced. It 
will be the same if an excess of feeling should blend 
the tremor of laughter or crying, with discourse : 
for by the above described nature of these functions, 
the melody must be interrupted by the frequent 
occasions for reparation of the breath. It may be 
asked — why the breath may not be rapidly recov- 
ered, as it is in the momentary stops of discourse, 
which are sometimes scarcely perceptible. The 
reason is this: In the holding expiration of common 
speech, the respiratory function does not discharge 
the whole of the air from the lungs j such a quantity 
only is gradually spent in the utterance of words, 
as may be restored by a quick act of inspiration. 
But in the process of speaking by the exhausting 
3 N 



458 OF THE VOCAL SIGNS 

breath there is an expulsion of nearly all the air 
which can be discharged by an extreme contraction 
of the chest, and the subsequent repletion of the 
lungs requires a degree of expansion and a depth 
of draught which occupy the time of the protracted 
pauses of the Broken melody. 

It is not necessary to speak of the phrases of in- 
tonation, which are used in the melody here con- 
sidered. Every species may be employed, though, 
from the separations, the relationships of the phrases 
are not so perceptible nor so important in practical 
effect, as in the more connected sequences of the 
common current melody. 

I have thus endeavoured to open the way to a 
future description of the various elements of pas- 
sionate utterance, and a systematic arrangement of 
them. I have regarded them in an insulated light, 
though not one is ever heard alone ; and in some 
instances many are combined in a single act of ex- 
pression. Indeed if after this elementary represen- 
tation, the practical uses of the voice be considered, 
it will be found that these elements are employed 
in all states of combination which do not imply a 
contradiction. Thus a feeble and a forcible sound 
cannot exist in the same impulse of utterance, but 
either of these conditions may be conjoined with 
any of the affections of pitch or quality or time. No 
one interval of pitch can be, in the same syllabic 
impulse, an other interval ; but any movement of 
pitch, may as occasions require, be made simulta- 
neous in execution with any quality or time or 
stress. So in the wave, the intervals of pitch 



OF THE PASSIONS. 459 

may be consecutive in all possible ways *, and these 
ways whether in interval or arrangement may be 
conjoined with all the accidents of the voice, not at 
variance with their definition. 

It is then by the use of the few elements which 
have been enumerated, that the apparently infinite 
effects of speech are produced. But the preceding 
analysis of the vocal functions and the reduction of 
their nomenclature to the terms of the above named 
elements, must at once seem to put the inquirer 
in possession of the means for surveying the whole 
extent of this supposed infinity; and by causing him 
to think he sees the very number of the possible 
combinations, to change his vulgar wonder over 
obscurity, into an intelligent admiration at the com-* 
prehensive but still measurable constructive-pow- 
ers of a few associable constituents. 

The reader may now see why I have limited the 
range of this work to the consideration of elements, 
in their separate state ; or have only regarded a 
few of their combinations. To give a full enumera- 
tion of every possible group of the accidents of 
speech, would be beyond the aim of a philosophical 
elucidation of this subject. Nor indeed would it be 
necessary in a practical point of view : for if the 
practice is analytical over the speech of another, 
the duty in this case is, to resolve the combination 
into its parts. And if, on the other hand, one should 
be desirous of forming any combination to express 
certain states of mind, he can never be at a loss, 
after a proper description of the power of all the 



460 OF THE VOGAL SIGNS OF THE PASSIONS. 

individual functions, to join those which are neces- 
sary for the full expression of his emotion or thought. 
From a review of the elements, and a reference 
to the vast variety of the states of the mind to be 
represented in speech, we must be struck with the 
disproportion between their respective numbers. 
Some of the passions, are expressed by the same 
mode of intonation : but there are other conditions 
of mind, which as far as I know, have no particular 
symbols among the elements. These must be indi- 
cated, by an arbitrary language, in the common 
phraseology of discourse. Thus a person may on a 
mere tonic element which in itself conveys no idea, 
represent his grief or pain, by simply carrying that 
element through the interval of a semitone : or he 
may mark an inquiring state of mind by its move- 
ment through the concrete fifth : or his anger by its 
abrupt explosion. But there is no element by which 
he can inform us of his vanity, his fortitude, his re- 
morse or his generosity : these must be shown in 
action, or, be described by words. There are in- 
deed resources enough in the combinations of the 
elements for these purposes, but the associations 
have not been made in the instinctive ordinations 
of expression. 



SECTION XLVII. 

Of the Mode of Instruction in Elocution. 

I have thus far set before the eye of philosophy 
a copy of the designs of nature, in the construction 
of human speech. It is necessary, if I may still carry 
on the figure, to furnish at the same time a " work- 
ing plan," to him who may wish to build up for 
himself a fame in Elocution. 

If the reader is one of those who from disappoint- 
ment in higher hopes, have at last resolved to re- 
ceive their station in life, through the suffrages of 
ignorance, and who in their accomplishments are 
careless of rising above the discernment of their 
constituents, let him pass by this section. A little 
will serve his purposes ; and the instinct of his am- 
bition, without the wise designs of human assiduity, 
will enable him to be easily the file leader of his 
herd. But if he believes in that fine induction of 
the Greeks that " good things are difficult ;" if he 
sees the successful pretender, still restless and dis- 
satisfied, in having made captives only of the igno- 
rant ; if he desires to work for high and hard mas- 
ters, and to take his ultimate repose by the side of 
their ever during approbation, he may receive from 
the following pages, some assistance towards the 
execution of a design to acquire the art of reading 
well. 



462 OF THE MODE OF 

Can Elocution be taught 1 This question has 
heretofore been asked through ignorance. It shall 
hereafter be asked only through folly. 

The sceptics on the subject of the practicability 
of teaching elocution, appear under two classes. 
The one is a simple sort, who knowing that the 
ways of the voice have never been traced, believe 
they never can be reduced to assignable conditions. 
This opinion is grounded on the idea that the ex- 
pressive effects of speech consist in an occult some- 
thing which cannot be discovered, but which is 
neither high nor low, loud nor soft ; in short is not 
any of the known accidents of sound. They who 
thus confuse the plain revelation of nature, seem to 
have such an opinion on expression in speech, as a 
school-girl has on the expression of the countenance 
— That it is not a palpable effect of the physical 
form of the face in its state of rest, and in its va- 
rious motions, but that it is a kind of immaterialism, 
which darts from the eve, and breathes from the 
lips : a " soul," as it were in the face, which is yet 
" neither shape nor feature." 

The scepticism of the other class savours of 
something rather worse than simpleness. It pro- 
mulgates the idea, that accomplishments in elocu- 
tion are certain incommunicable gifts of genius, and 
that the happy possessor of them is the production 
of one of nature's rare " moments of enthusiasm." 
Such sleight of tongue, to hide the plain agency of 
natural causes, is heard not only from those who 
are vain of common-place endowments, but, if bi- 
ography is to be believed, has not always been dis- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 463 

dained by those who possessed attributes sufficient 
to set them among the Dii Majorum Gentium of 
the Stage. He who has great powers in an art, 
knows well that he is distinguished from the thou- 
sands that surround him, by the results of his in- 
dustry, and his singleness in purpose aud zeal : and 
that what he has accomplished may be accomplish- 
ed by others \ nor does he withhold instruction, in 
the fear of making rivals for himself, since he knows 
that if it is necessary afterwards, he can always 
excel them. 

There is still another class who are too sensible 
to believe in this mystical doctrine of the inspira- 
tion of genius, who yet think the art of reading 
well can be taught only by imitation. It is true, 
elocution has furnished instances of great ends be- 
ing attained without a knowledge of all the nicety 
of means ; and this may prove that it is less impor- 
tant and practical to direct another what he should 
do, than to give him an example of it. But the an- 
alysis which has been made will now enable a teach- 
er to give the memorable description of what is to 
be done ; and thereby to furnish the pupil with pur- 
pose as well as example. 

I have thus named the objections, sometimes 
made against an attempt to teach the uses of the 
voice, by communicable principles. I shall not con- 
fer importance on them by refutation. In so doing 
I should only record some vain opinions of this age, 
which a future one need not know. At the pre- 
sent time I am quite unconcerned whether the 
offered analysis in this essay, and the scheme of in 



464 OF THE MODE OF 

struction founded upon it, is to the old school of 
imitators, either "a stumbling-block or foolish- 
ness." 

The preceding history will furnish most of the 
materials for erecting elocution into a science : and 
we must wait for the nice observations, comparisons 
and conclusions of taste, to frame a body of rules 
for directing the best use of these materials. Our 
analysis will not only afford the means of reducing 
the vague and arbitrary fashion of the voice to that 
standard of general principles, to which the fine 
arts may be brought : but it opens a new field on 
the subject of instruction. All arts which have been 
separated into their elemental parts, have been re- 
composed into grammatical schemes for teaching 
by those elements : and it now becomes us to try 
what may be the advantages, as to economy of time, 
and precision of execution, from following an ele- 
mentary plan, in communicating a knowledge of 
the nature and accomplishments of human speech. 

Language was long ago analyzed into its alpha- 
betic elements. Wherever this analysis is known, 
the art of teaching language, has, with the best suc- 
cess, been conducted upon the plan of rudimental 
arrangement. Now, I know that if other accidents 
of speech, besides that of pronunciation, be taught 
by this manner of resolution, the benefits of in- 
struction will be no less attained than by the mode 
of alphabetic analysis. If we teach a child in this 
way, in order to make him acquainted with the 
simple sounds of speech, and to give him a facility 
and distinctness in the pronunciation of them ; what 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 455 

reason can be suggested why a clear perception of 
the varieties of stress, of time and of intonation, 
and a facility in managing them in current utterance 
should not be acquired in a similar elementary man- 
ner. 

Good reading must consist in having all the vo- 
cal elements under the most complete command ; 
and in the proper application of them for the pro- 
duction of sense, vividness of delineation and ele- 
gance of execution. I pass by in this section, all 
notice of the elements as expressive of the various 
feelings or states of the mind : and shall here speak 
only of the means of furnishing a pliant material 
whenever the mind may require its use. 

If I were a teacher of elocution, I would form 
into a didactic system, the mode of practice by 
which the present work on the voice was accom- 
plished. I would assign to my pupil a task under 
the following heads. And first — 

Of Practice on tlie Alphabetic Elements. — Not- 
withstanding we are all taught the alphabet, we are 
not taught the true elements of speech : I would 
therefore require the pupil to exercise his voice on 
the real constituents, as they are sounded in a strict 
analysis of words. In the present school-system 
of the alphabet, it is true, all the vowels and one 
of the consonants, are called as they are pronounc- 
ed in combination : but in that system many vow- 
els have no peculiar symbol, and nearly all the con- 
sonants are heard as syllables, not as elements. If 
b and k and Z, (and what I say now will apply to 
all the consonants,) be sounded as respectively heard 
3 o 



466 OF THE MODE OF 

in " 6-ay" and " fc-ing" and " Z-ove," that is, if we 
pause after these several initial elements have es- 
caped the organs, we shall have the real elemental 
constituents of the syllables, instead of the com- 
pounds " be/' " kay" and " ell" as they are univer- 
sally taught. 

I would have the first lesson then to consist of 
the thirty -five elements, in order to ensure a true 
and easy execution of their unmixed sounds. It 
may be asked, whether a careful pronunciation of 
words in which these elements, though combined, 
must still be heard, would not give the required 
facility 1 I believe it would not : and I am sure it 
would not so easily effect it. When the elements 
are pronounced singly, they may receive a concen- 
tration of the organic effort, which gives them a 
clearness of sound and a definite outline, if I may 
so speak, at their extremes, that makes a fine pre- 
parative for a distinct and forcible pronunciation in 
the compounds of speech. I venture to assert that 
no one who has neglected this mode of alphabetic 
practice, is able to give the guttural murmur of the 
&, d and g, with that force and fulness, and for that 
length of time, which will be found necessary on 
occasions which call for the higher graces and more 
striking expressions of elocution. 

But there is one element, which may, by sepa- 
rate utterance, with facility be improved to a de- 
gree that cannot be reached in the conjoined mode 
of pronunciation. I mean the sound of " r." 

R is a modification of the vocality of the subto- 
nics, by the application of the tongue to the roof 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 4(57 

of the mouth. This letter denotes two different 
sounds : one made by the simple continued pres- 
sure of the tongue, the other by a slap against 
the roof of the mouth, at the moment of the pro- 
duction of the vocality. The r produced by the 
first organic combination, differs very little from 
the short tonic err, and is called the smooth r. That 
formed by the smart percussion of the tongue, is 
called the rough or ringent r. It has a distinctness 
of character and a body of sound, not possessed by 
the other : and if my metaphor could be appreciated 
I would say, the parts concerned in its formation, 
seem to have a firmer grasp of the breath. But it 
must be borne in mind that the snarling or ringent 
r, even with its vigor and satisfactory fulness, will 
be agreeable only when it consists of one, or at 
most % two or three strokes and rebounds of the 
tongue : for if it should become a continued vibra- 
tion, the effect will be offensively harsh, except it 
be expressly designed for a rough or energetic ut- 
terance. The perfect r for the common purposes 
of distinct and impressive discourse should consist 
of a single slap and retraction. It can be made in 
this manner : but it must be done through long 
trial, on the solitary element. 

Besides the difficulty of acquiring the strength 
and finish of this separate pronunciation, there are 
combinations of the r with other elements, which 
can be effected in an agreeable manner only after 
long practice. It can not be doubted, that the sub- 
tonics and atonies, which employ the tongue, will 
not readily unite with an element, requiring a quick 



468 0F THE MODE OF 

remove of that member to an other part of the 
mouth, even when the r is produced by the gen- 
tle pressure of the tongue. But the difficulty of 
transition is much increased, by the velocity neces- 
sary when the ringent r is made. Let us, for in- 
stance, suppose a syllabic step from d to r, as in 
the word " dread. '' Now, as the formation of " d," 
requires the tip of the tongue to be applied to the 
upper fore-teeth, if the r is taken smoothly, the union 
of these contiguous elements may be made with- 
out much effort, by retracting the tongue to its place 
for forming the r. But if we wish to roughen the 
word by the ringent r, the tongue is to be removed 
from the teeth, and to be brought down towards 
its bed, in a kind of dra wing-off, for the purpose of 
making a sudden impulse on the roof of the mouth : 
and it calls for both exertion and skill, to accom- 
plish these successive movements with the quick 
coalescence which syllabic utterance requires. 

There is also considerable difficulty in the attempt 
to unite the ringent r with some of the tonics-, and the 
cause will be found to be analogous to that which is 
operative in the above described combination. 

When the ringent r is set before the tonics, the 
coalescence is easy, but it is not so when it follows 
certain of these elements. If the tonics are of long 
quantity, there is only the slightest difficulty ; as in 
" glare," " war," " far," " peer," " mire," " our," 
" your." But if the natural short-tonics err, end, 
and i-n, arid most of the other tonics, when pro- 
nounced short, precede the ringent r, there is not 
only a considerable hiatus, but a change of the ele- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 469 

mental sound takes place ; and that peculiar aspi- 
rated utterance is heard, which forms one of the 
characteristics of the speech in the natives of Ire- 
land. This will be perceived upon pronouncing 
the following words with the ringent r : interpreter, 
world, irritate, intercourse. The cause of the diffi- 
culty, and of the change of sound, will appear in 
the following explanation. 

The tonic sounds, though in greater part laryn- 
geal, are, in some cases, modified by the agency 
of the tongue and lips. If their formation be ob- 
served with respect to the first of these organs, it 
will be seen that they employ it in varying posi- 
tions, from the deepest depression in its bed, to a 
near approximation to the roof of the mouth. The 
place of the tongue in the utterance of a-we is the 
lowest : and in ee-1, e-nd and in, it is the highest. 
It will be found, if the tongue be depressed whilst 
the effort in these last instances is going on, that the 
short tonic sound is corrupted into a semi-aspira- 
tion. When a-we precedes the ringent r, the 
tongue is in a proper position to make its percussive 
impulse : and the combination is both easy of ex- 
ecution and agreeable in effect. 

If a short tonic element is followed by the r, it 
is necessary to depress the tongue, to give it some 
swinging-way, if I may so speak, for the purpose 
of gaining the velocity of percussion : and the aim 
to effect this in the quickest time, produces the 
straiued effort of the pronunciation. But with every 
endeavour, there is still a perceptible interval be 
tween the change of position. And as there is no 



470 OF THE MODE OF 

call to arrest the vocality during the change, the 
depression of the tongue, for effecting the percus- 
sion of the r, changes that vocality into a partial as- 
piration, agreeably to what was said above. This 
mingling of the aspiration with the sound of the 
short tonic, and of the r, produces the offensive ef- 
fect in the utterance of these conjoined elements. 

The difficulty of executing the r under the cir- 
cumstances above-mentioned, will, I fear, be insur- 
mountable to those who are not persuaded, that the 
perfection of all their accomplishments must at last 
be measured by their ingenuity in the contrivances 
of trial, and the enterprises of their unwearied 
practice. To those who know that fruitful ambition 
is the growth of wise docility of mind, and heart- 
felt resolution, it is enough to be told that it is with- 
in the capabilities of time and exertion. How long 
it may take to overcome the difficulties here alluded 
to, must depend on natural facility of organ : nor 
need it be told to those who deserve instruction and 
will have success. To such spirits, it is enough that 
it may be done. 

An exact pronunciation of the elements accord- 
ing to the standard of the day, is not a matter of 
nicety as regards formality of fashion, or even beau- 
ty of effect 5 it has a claim of greater dignity. 

If ideas are to be communicated with precision 
and strength, it should be by well-known words. 
They should not be peculiar or striking by length, 
nor by hiatus of utterance. There should be no re- 
markable contrast between them, no attractive simi- 
larity in their sound; nor indeed any thing in the 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 47 1 

language which might allure attention from the 
idea conveyed by it. A writer who frequently 
employs uncommon words, never has vividness or 
strength of style. To ensure the utmost perfection 
of these qualities, sounds should slip into the mind, 
if I may say it, without the notice of the ear. Now 
what is here said on the distractions produced by the 
novelty of words, applies equally to the pronuncia- 
tion of the alphabetic elements j for the least devia- 
tion from the assumed standard converts the listener 
into the critic : and I am surely speaking within 
bounds when I say, that for every miscalled ele- 
ment in discourse, ten succeeding words are lost to 
the greater part of an audience. 

I have therefore recommended a long continued 
practice on the separate elements, with a view to 
acquire that command which will not only contri- 
bute to the elegance of speech, but which at the 
same time may help to remove all obscurity from 
the oral picture of sense. 

Of Practice on the Time of Elements. — I have 
said enough in former pages on the necessity of a 
free command over the time of utterance, in order 
to effect the high purposes of elocution. 

When the true pronunciation of the elements is 
acquired, the pupil is not, after the usage of the 
primer, to pass at once to their combinations. They 
appear in those combinations with different degrees 
of duration : and an exercise of the voice, in the 
ways of quantity, upon individual elements, is equal- 
ly with the subject of the last head, productive of 
a skilful management, which cannot be so well or 



472 OF THE MODE OF 

so easily effected in the coalescing form of common 
discourse. Let the pupil then consider the alpha- 
betic elements as a kind of gammut, on which he is 
to learn not only the names of the notes, but all 
their varieties of time. Strange as the reason may 
seem, the power of giving length to syllables is so 
rare among speakers, and so difficult to acquire, 
that I thought it proper to draw attention to this 
elementary mode for facilitating the attainment of 
it. 

The prolongation of the atonies is of little conse- 
quence. But let the student reiterate his practice 
on the touics and subtonics, until he finds himself 
possessed of such a command over them, that he 
may, at will, give any required quantity to their 
syllabic combinations. 

It may be particularly remarked that the ele- 
ments, 6, d and g, admit of some quantity, through 
the prolongation of their guttural murmur : but a 
strenuous practice is necessary to render this useful 
in the purposes of time. When the r, is to be pro- 
longed, and the rapid iteration would be inappro- 
priate, the smooth, and feebly formed element is 
to be employed 5 since the perfect percussive r, 
made by a single stroke and rebound of the tongue, 
is necessarily short. £, when alone and prolonged, 
is a sign of contempt. In syllabic combination it 
is offensive when much extended in quantity. If 
made in its shortest time it does its part as an ele- 
ment, and loses much of the character of the hiss. 
Let the pupil therefore practice the shortest quan- 
tity on this element, by abruptly terminating the 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 473 

breath, or by separating the teeth at the moment 
its sound is heard ; for this at once cuts it short. 

Of Practice on the Vanishing Movement. — The 
consideration of this point should have been united 
with the last. For if an attempt to prolong the 
elements, be not made with a designed reference 
to the equable concrete of speech, it will be very 
apt to run into the note of song. The difference 
between these two modes of intonation is readily 
perceptible to a musical and attentive ear, even 
when made upon a single tonic, by a comparison 
of their respective effects with the well known im- 
pressions of current speech and of song. Let each 
individual act of intonation be assumed as the be- 
ginning of a series : if it be the equable concrete, 
it will not seem to be the opening of a song. The 
pupil then without confusing his ear by other par- 
ticulars, should exercise himself in the natural radi- 
cal and vanish, on all the extendible elements. An 
unerring power of execution in this function, how- 
ever long the quantity may be, will always ensure 
to speech, an entire exemption from the chant of 
song. 

In this elementary intonation of the equable con- 
crete, particular attention should be paid to the 
structure of the vanish. The pupil should there- 
fore endeavour to give it that delicate expiration 
which may render its limit almost imperceptible. 
We often lean the ear in delight, if I may say so, 
over this smooth knitting of sound with silence, by 
singers : and the master in elocution shall hereafter 
know, that one of those graces of speech which he 
3 p 



474 OF THE MODE OP 

could never name, and thought " beyond the reach 
of art," consists in that attenuation and close of the 
syllabic impulse which are here recommended as 
a lesson for a school boy. 

Of Practice on Force. — It is scarcely necessary 
to say how loudness or strength of voice is to be 
acquired. It is not essential in discipline that the 
elements should be uttered separately with regard 
to force : since after the other accidents are brought 
under command, the practice on loudness may be 
effected in the current progress of discourse. Still 
I believe the ends of instruction would be some- 
what easier attained by the elementary process in 
this particular. No one who has not observed the 
influence of loud speaking or vociferation, on the 
nature of the voice, can have an idea of its improv- 
ing effect. I have before said that it was the arti- 
ficial mode of producing the orotund quality. It 
takes the voice from the meagre mincing about the 
lips, and transfers it, at least in semblance, to the 
back of the mouth or to the throat. It imparts a 
grave fulness to utterance ; and by creating a 
strength of organ, gives confidence to the speaker, 
and an unhesitating facility in all the moderate ex- 
ertions of speech. 

Of Practice on Stress. — However we might pass 
by the elementary exercise on loudness, I must 
urge its importance, to the subject of stress. There 
is a nicety of analysis in this matter, which by a 
beginner will be definitely recognised, and conse- 
quently can become familiar, only through the de- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 475 

liberate practice and unembarrassed observation, 
afforded by trials on the separate elements. 

The reader recollects that the radical stress is 
made with emphatic strength only on the tonics; 
still an attempt to perform this function on the sub- 
tonics is not to be entirely neglected. The full 
power of the radical abruptness is obtained by open- 
ing the elements into utterance by a sort of cough- 
ing explosion. 

For the median stress or swell, no particular di- 
rection is required. It is generally employed on 
the wave, and is therefore connected with the prac- 
tice on pitch. 

The vanishing stress may be practised by assum- 
ing in speech something like the effort of hiccough, 
for the major intervals of the scale, if I may so call 
them ; and something like sobbing for the minor in- 
terval, or the semitone. 

It is not necessary to speak of exercising the 
voice on the compound stress, the thorough stress, 
and the loud concrete. There are, indeed, philo- 
sophic points, but they are of little importance in 
a practical view. 

Of Practice on Pitch. — The scale of pitch which 
is used in this essay, is that long ago formed and 
named in music. It was described in the first sec- 
tion. The order of its proximate intervals and the 
span of its wider transitions, must be learned from 
an instrument, or the voice. There is now scarce- 
ly a house which will not furnish a piano-forte, to- 
gether with a school girl, to exemplify the discrete 
series of the musical scale. With a few days atten- 



476 0F THE MODE OF 

tion to the effect of the various rising and falling 
transitions, a pupil who has the least musical ear, 
will be able to execute the same successions in his 
voice, and thus to recognise the concrete pitch and 
the change of the radical, when they are made on 
elemental or syllabic utterance. 

When the pupil has passed this preliminary step, 
I would have every interval of pitch, both in an up- 
ward and downward direction, and in concrete 
movement and radical change, practised on every 
tonic and subtonic element. 

The semitone is easily taught, and the scholar 
may always hit its interval by affecting a plaintive 
utterance. Let him devote some time to putting 
it through all the elements, and he will thereby 
render it readily obedient to the sentiments which 
require its expression, 

I must negatively describe the effect of the sim- 
ple and uncolored interval of the second, by saying, 
it is not the semitone, with the plaintive character 
of which we may now suppose ourselves well ac- 
quainted. Neither is it the third or fifth or octave, 
also well known as the sign of interrogation. Nor 
is it the wide downward movement of surprise. If 
in syllabic utterance, we produce none of these ef- 
fects, we may be sure we have gone through the 
simple second of the plain diatonic melody. Let 
the pupil practice this interval on all the tonics and 
subtonics, and he will be able always to command 
the constituent of this plain melody ; nor will he 
be in danger of infecting its appropriate character 
by the whine of the semitone, the sharp inquisitive- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 477 

ness of the fifth and octave, or with the more offen- 
sive affectation of the higher forms of the wave. 

That the pupil may ascertain when he is execut- 
ing a downward interval, let him familiarize his 
ear to the effect of the last constituent of a cadence, 
consisting of a gradual descent upon three distinct 
syllables. This will give him the character of the 
falling second : and if he studiously repeats the ele- 
ments with a reference to this movement, he can 
create nearly as clear a perception of the peculi- 
arity of the interval, as he has of the sounds of the 
elements themselves. When he has prepared him- 
self with this downward vanish, he may contrast it 
with the rising second, and he will thus soon become 
acquainted with the audible character of each. Upon 
knowing the second, the wider falling intervals 
may be easily recognised, by continuing the down- 
ward progress, till the intonation assumes the ex- 
pression of surprise, without interrogation : the ex- 
tent of the downward movement through a third 
or fifth or octave, being proportional to the less or 
greater degree of that sentiment. When these in- 
tervals have become familiar let them be compared 
with the higher intervals in a rising direction. The 
difference between the intonation of a question, and 
of surprise, will thus be made manifest. 

I would have the pupil, in going through the ele- 
ments, play upon them in the movement of the 
wave. His practice here must be governed by his 
perceptions of the simple intervals which variously 
compose its different kinds. The wave of the se- 
cond is of great importance, in the grave and digni- 



478 0F THE MODE OP 

fied cast of the diatonic melody. I cannot by any 
graphic sign or by direct description bring this func- 
tion before the reader's attention : but in giving 
prolonged quantity to indefinite syllables, if the up- 
ward or downward wider intervals be not used, 
nor the marked impression of the higher waves, 
nor the plaintive semitone, the voice will naturally 
fall into the wave of the second. 

Of Practice on Melody. — One of the most diffi- 
cult things regarding intonation, is the perception 
of the radical changes of the second in the suc- 
cessions of the current melody. If the pupil has 
a musical ear, he may easily acquire the habit of 
varying the several phrases in the manner former- 
ly mentioned. If he has not a nice discernment 
of sound, nor ingenuity in experiment, he must 
learn the diatonic progression from the voice of a 
master. 

The flow of melody cannot be made on single 
elements, therefore the cultivation of this function, 
must consist of exercise on connected syllables. 
The best method is to select a portion of discourse, 
to keep in mind the manner in which it should be 
naturally read, and yet to pronounce only the tonic 
element cf each syllable. In this case, the ear 
not being embarrassed by the subtonics, the differ- 
ence between rise and fall in radical pitch, will 
be more apparent, and consequently the power of 
avoiding monotony, and of mingling all the phrases 
in an agreeable variety, more easily attained. 

Of Practice on the Cadence. — The cadence is an 
important part of the melody of speech. I shall 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 479 

in the last section, speak of the faults of speakers 
on this point. I here propose the form of elemen- 
tary practice-, by which I mean that the pupil should 
bear in mind the different modes of intonation for 
terminating a sentence, and should exercise his 
voice on one, two, or three elements or syllables, 
considered as a close. 

II the application of the various species of the 
cadence, be made with attention to their mode of 
construction and effect, the command over intona- 
tion in this particular, will be more completely ac- 
quired than when the aims of the pupil are con- 
fused by the ordinary system of imitative discipline. 
After the proper time has been devoted to the 
plan here recommended, a speaker will find him- 
self provided with an ample fund for variety in 
his periods •, nor will he be likely to incur difficul- 
ty or awkwardness in the execution of them. 

Of Practice on the Tremor -The tremulous move- 
ment is one of those functions which should be prac- 
tised on individual elements. With a knowledge 
of its construction, the scholar may correct himself 
in his task, and finally acquire that nicety which is 
essential to this expressive species of intonation. 

I know well that the habit of laughing and cry- 
ing does here furnish a wide field of practice ; but 
it is to be recollected that we laugh and cry, in a na- 
tural way for our own delight or relief, and not with 
a view to furnish a picture of these functions to an 
audience : who will have it done not only according 
to the sentimental dictates of nature, and within 
the pale of her truth, but also with that utmost de- 



480 OF THE MODE OF 

gree of refinement in mode, and beauty in execu- 
tion, which nature herself may never find purpose 
enough to accomplish ; though she may be ready- 
to acknowledge their entire consistency with the 
spirit of her laws. 

Of Practice on Quality of Voice. — The quality 
of voice, or it's particular kind of sound, is capable 
of improvement ; and the practice in this case may 
be either on the elements, or on the current of dis- 
course. But as the quality is most perceptible on 
the tonic second of a syllable, perhaps the ele- 
mentary mode is the best plan for instruction. In 
whichever way the improving exercise is conduct- 
ed, by it, a harsh quality may be somewhat soften- 
ed ; a husky voice may be brought nearer to pure 
vocality ; the piercing treble may be reduced in 
pitch, and the thin and meagre voice endowed with 
fulness and strength. 

There is, however, a deception on this subject, 
which deserves to be noticed here. 

The qualities, or, as they are called, the " tones," 
of the voice, are said to be unlimited, and like the 
face, peculiar to each individual. It is true we do 
not often confound the several voices of persons 
whom we have heard, however numerous they 
may be : but the distinct recognition is here made 
upon the combination of the elements of force, pitch 
and time, rather than on the single point of quality. 
The voice of one speaker is characterized by a 
constant use of the vanishing stress, of another by 
the radical ; one uses the interval of the third in the 
current melody, instead of the second. Some em- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION- \S) 

ploy a general predominance of long — others, of 
short quantities. In fine", by permutations of these 
features, an almost infinite number of faces, if I may £ 
so speak, is given to the boldy'tof out* speech. 

There are as many varieties of quality, as of any 
one of the accidents, and more than of some : the 
amount, however, falls far short of the combina- 
tions of the several accidents with e§ch other. 

We may learn that the quality of a voice is not 
always its distinguishing mark, by attending to the 
prolonged note of song ; {or it gives quality alone. 
In forming a judgment from this simple sound, ex- 
clusive of any peculiarity of stress or intonation, 
it is not easy to distinguish voices which would be 
widely different when heard through a single sen- 
tence in speech. 1 have indeed no other ground 
than general observation, for the following calcula- 
tion •, still I am disposed to think that of the speak- 
ing voices of a thousand persons, nearly all will be 
found different through the permuted combination 
of their constituents. But if the same voices were 
to give a single prolonged note of song, the differ- 
ences might be reduced to a few classes. There 
would be harsh and soft voices heard among them, 
shrill and bass, clear and aspirated, dull and ring- 
ing: and to these a few other kinds might be added. 
Yet even these would, in some cases, be distin- 
guishable only by a cultivated ear : so that of the 
whole thousand, above supposed, I doubt if more 
than twenty points of recognition could be found. 
to constitute twenty kinds of quality. 

Of the orotund as a kind of voice, I have spoken 
3 Q 



4S2 OF THE M° DE OF 

in a former section ; stating there, the mode of man- 
aging the respiration, by which the fulness, power, 
and grave quality of this voice may be attained. It 
may, perhaps, assist the reader to discover when 
he is using that mode of utterance which will pro- 
mote the habit of transferring (as it seems) the vo- 
cal effort to the chest — by stating that the voice in 
this case, is apt to pass into the falsette, producing 
that " double-lung" kind of speech which consists 
of alternate bass and treble. 

Of Practice in Rayjf&y of Speech. — I have spo- 
ken of the solemn and aeliberate character of dis- 
course produced by slow time and long quantity. 

The extreme rapidity of speech may be employ- 
ed as a means for obtaining a command over the 
uses of the voice. The difficulty, in this case, of 
making transitions from one position of organs to 
another, requires an exertion which tends to in- 
crease the strength of those organs, and conse- 
quently enables them to perform all the moderate 
progressions, without effort or hesitation. I would 
recommend the utmost possible precipitancy of ut- 
terance *, taking care not to outrun the complete 
articulation of every element : and this makes it 
advisable to set the lesson on some discourse which 
has long been fixed in the memory, that there may 
be no embarrassment by the distracting work of re- 
collection. 

I do not see much advantage in an elementary 
practice on the aspiration, the emphatic vocule, and 
the guttural emphasis. There is nothing in the ex- 
ecution of these elements requiring the exclusive 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 435 

attention which the elemental system is meant to 
secure 5 nor is there any thing to be effected there- 
by, which might not be accomplished in the current 
of discourse. 

These are the elements of speech ; and the va- 
rious uses of them, enumerated throughout this es- 
say, contribute largely to the force and elegance 
of utterance. They must be employed. The ques- 
tion is, whe her they should be learned from an as- 
semblage, in current discourse, or from a separate 
and iterated practice on their individual forms. 

I need not propose arguments iif favor of the 
analytic and elementary system to those, who, from 
the habit of acquiring the sciences, have formed for 
themselves economical and effective plans of edu- 
cation. It is well for all others to take opinion in 
this matter, for a while at least, upon faith ; and to 
know that the only reason why elocutionists have 
never employed this mode, is because they have 
been ignorant of the subdivided functions of speech. 
There are too many examples in science, of the 
useful application of analysis to the purpose of ru- 
dimental instruction, to suppose that the same means 
would not have been adopted in elocution, if they 
had been within reach of the master. 

Not to cite instances from those graver studies 
which proceed by the alphabetic steps of elemen- 
tary principles ; and with no intention to shame the 
" genius"' of an elocutionist and his grammar of 
imitation, let us go to the Ring and see the Science 
of muscular attack and defence, an over-match for 
the best efforts of strength and passion when un- 



484 0F THE MODE OF 

directed by the skill of the school. The ^ fancy" 
have really made no slang-like or degrading appli- 

f cation of the word. Science, as we use the term, 
means the shortest and most effectual means for 

o reaching the end of an art, drawn from comprehen- 
sive observation and close analysis : and if it cannot 
always ennoble what it touches, it takes from it the 
characteristic of brutality ; which is defined to be 
the instinctive execution of what is not understood 
by the agent. Tt is indeed, as I have heard it call- 
ed, the Science ,pf brachial defence •, and believe 
me reader, ttiat the elementary training in its posi- 
tions and motions, carry not more superiority over 
the untaught arm, than the definite rules of elocu- 
tion, founded on a knowledge of the elements of 
the voice, will have over the best spontaneous 
achievements of passion. 

I beg not to be misunderstood on this point. I 
do not say that instruction can create the great es- 
sentials of a speaker : but I know it can improve 
them. " Passion," says a writer, cc knows more than 
art." It may know more than art, for it knows be- 
fore it. But art sometimes knows better than pas- 
sion. The display of the passions on memorized 
discourse, is not always addressed to those who are 
under the sympathetic influence of those passions. 
When it is so, or when, at moments, the speaker 
can raise that sympathy, all is right that passion 

» does. When however we are in that state of deli- 

* * 

v Deration which contemplates what passion should 
be, there arises such comparisons between what 
we feel ourselves, on the different occasions of ex- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. ,j§5 

citement, and what we observe in others when un- 
der the influence of it, that we are obliged to call 
up from art, an ideal rule to settle an uncertainty 
of opinion. . 

I look for no more, from a well devised practical 
system of elocution, than we are every day receiv- 
ing from established arts. All men speak and rea- 
son, for these acts, as far as we know, are as natural 
as passion •, but the arts of grammar, rhetoric and 
logic, teach us to do these things in the best man- 
ner. In short, doing them in the best manner is 
signified by the name of these arts. 

The subject of elementary instruction, here in 
view, may be regarded under another aspect. 

There is in man a will, with a system of muscles 
which the common calls of exercise render obedient 
to that will, and which thereby produce motion in 
every direction, not forbidden by the nature of the 
joints. Now there is scarcely a boy of any physical 
activity or enterprise, who does not, on seeing: a 
Circus-rider, desire to imitate him; to catch and 
keep the centre of gravity through all the varieties 
of balance and motion. Yet this will not prevent 
his fall, on a first trial, however natural the tie be- 
tween his will and all his muscles may be. The 
truth is, that without long experience, he knows 
not what is to be done ; or if he knows, he is unable 
to effect it. With some analogy to this case, there 
are many persons, not destitute of feeling or pas- 
sion, who have a free command of the voice, on the 
common occasions of life, but who like the totter- 
ing of the unskilled rider, betray a faltering tongue 



486 OF THE MODE OF 

if they attempt to imitate the varied power of the 
long- practiced speaker. When the voice is prepared 
by elementary trial, the feeling which prompts the 
expression will find the pliant and strengthened 
organs ready to furnish a satisfactory and elegant 
accomplishment of its designs. 

The organs of utterance are capable of a certain 
range of exertion : and to fulfil all the demands of 
a complete elocution, they should be carried to the 
full extent of that capability. Those persons who 
possess both active and delicate feelings, and who 
exercise themselves in recitation, are always ap- 
proximating towards this utmost play of power in 
the voice, by the ordinary mode of instruction; 
and do in a course of years effect nearly all that 
the organs are susceptible of. But the elementary 
mode here proposed, being founded on an analysis 
of speech, at once points out to the pupil what is 
to be attained, and thus invites him to the accom- 
plishment of every vocal possibility. 

It was not until long after the invention of the 
bow for the touch of stringed instruments, that an 
accurate observation of its use was made. A few 
belonging to that class of mankind who find out, 
themselves, the best way to effect their object, may 
have exhibited rare instances of skill with this in- 
strument. But as soon as Tartini (or whoever else 
it was) made something like an analysis of .the mus- 
cular functions by which it is well and gracefully 
handled, the master was able to point out to the 
pupil the sleights of the elbow and wrist which it 
requires ; their combined and successive motions ; 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 4gJ 

and that full feeling of the will as it were present 
in the muscle, which ensures undeviating steadiness 
in every sweep, and gives the power of a sort of con- 
scious spasm for the purpose of a momentary touch. 
As soon as these points were ascertained, instruc- 
tion began to adopt the economy of elementary 
rules, and velocity, precision, smoothness and va- 
riety of execution, became common accomplish- 
ments in the art of bowing. 

When an attempt is made to teach an art without 
commencing with its most simple elements, com- 
binations of elements pass with the pupil for the ele- 
ments themselves, and holding them to be almost 
infinite he abandons his task, as of hopeless end. 
An education by the method we are here recom- 
mending reverses this dishearteningduty . It reduces 
this seeming infinity to computable numbers ; and 
I anticipate, with no little confidence, that one of 
the first comments on the foregoing analysis, will 
refer to the unexpected simplicity of means for 
the production of the unbounded permutations of 
speech. Nay, this essay itself will fare better than 
other similar efforts in science, if some of the per- # 
ishing criticism of the day should not find good 
reason with itself, for overlooking the difficulty of 
the task of tracing the mysterv of speech to its pal- 
pable roots, by being told how few they are. 

When I speak of the best mode of instruction in 
elocution, I refer to that which produces the high- 
est end and utmost finish of utterance. Any kind 
of speech, which does not mistake the price, will 
serve for buying and selling. But where tha pow- 



488 0F THE MODE OF 

ers and beauties of the voice are made the subject 
of pleasure, it becomes necessary to employ the 
most comprehensive and the easiest means for its 
cultivation. It would be possible even without re- 
gard to the alphabet, to teach a savage by making 
him follow a master in reading current discourse. 
So speakers have been taught by similar process of 
imitative instruction. But I know well, and others 
shall know hereafter that the analysis of words into 
a graphic alphabet, and the rudimental mode of 
teaching instituted thereupon, do not give more 
facility, in the discriminations of the eye on a writ- 
ten page, than the mode here proposed will afford 
to the student of elocution, who wishes to excel in 
all the useful and elegant purposes of speech. 

Let the master and the scholar meet without 
books. Let the master exemplify the graceful spiring 
of the vanish •, the effect of the second and other in- 
tervals of pitch. Let him make the scholar sensible 
of the difference of these intervals by separate utter- 
ance. Let him show the peculiarities of a rising and 
of a falling movement-, in short let his lessons con- 
sist of his alphabet of vocal functions throughout the 
"whole of the elements. Let the scholar practice 
these things as a task when he retires, and when he 
returns to his master, let it not be to hear him read, 
and vainly try to imitate him, but to repeat his prac- 
ticed elements, and to hit at once any required mode 
of voice. When he is completely familiar with these 
rudiments, then let him read with his master. 

If the high accomplishments of elocution are an 
object of ambition, the system of instruction offer- 



INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 4gg 

ed in this section, will furnish the easiest and short- 
est means for success. 

After all that has been said, the best contrived 
scheme will be of little avail, without the utmost 
zeal and perseverance on the part of the learner. 
It is an impressive saying by an elegant genius of 
the Augustan age in Rome, and he drew the maxim 
from his own life and fame, that " nothing is given 
to mortals without indefatigable labour :" by which 
he meant to insinuate that those works which, from 
their rare and surpassing merits are supposed to 
proceed from a peculiar endowment by Heaven, 
are, in reality, but the product of hard and unre- 
mitting industry. 

It is pitiable to witness the wishes and conceits 
of ambition, without the accompaniment of its re- 
quisite exertions. The art of reading well is one of 
those accomplishments which all wish to possess, 
many think they have already, and some set about 
to acquire. These, after a few lessons with an elo- 
cutionist, and no toil of their own, are disappointed 
at not becoming themselves at once masters of the 
art, and abandon the study for the purpose of enter- 
ing on some new subject of trial and failure. Such 
cases of infirmity are partly the consequence of 
the inconstancy of human nature ; but they chiefly 
arise from defects in the usual course of instruction. 
— Go to some, may I say all, of our colleges and 
universities, and observe how the art of speaking, 
is not taught there. See a boy of but fifteen years, 
sent upon a stage, pale and choking with appre- 
hension, in an attempt to do that, without instruc- 
ts R 



400 THE MODE OF INSTRUCTION IN ELOCUTION. 

tion, which he came purposely to learn •, and to 
furnish amusement to his class-mates, by a par- 
donable awkwardness, which should be punished, 
in the person of his pretending and neglectful pre- 
ceptors, with little less than scourging. Then visit 
a Conservatorio of music — see the orderly tasks, 
the masterly discipline, the unwearied superinten- 
dence and the incessant toil to produce accomplish- 
ment of voice ; and afterwards do not be surprised 
that the pulpit, the senate, the bar and the chair 
of medical professorship are filled with such abo- 
minable drawlers, mouthers, mumblers, clutterers, 
squeakers, chanters and mongers in monotony : nor 
that the schools of singing are constantly sending 
abroad those great instances of vocal wonder, who 
sound along the high places of the world ; who are 
bidden to the halls of fashion and wealth; who some- 
times quell the pride of rank, by its momentary 
sensation of envy ; and who draw forth the intelli- 
gent curiosity, and produce the crowning delight 
and approbation of the Prince and the Sage. 



SECTION XLVIII. 

Of the Rhythmus of Speech. 

In the section on Time I alluded, in the course 
of argument, to the subject of Rhythmus. I endea- 
voured then to show the circumstances under which 
stress and time, or as they are otherwise called, ac- 
cent and quantity, produce by their alternations the 
agreeable impressions of versification. I now offer 
a somewhat more formal account of this matter, 
with the design to speak of the Rhythmus of prose : 
and for the purpose of noticing, in as few words as 
possible, the ingenious system of Mr. Steele, on the 
subject of accentuation and pause : this being one of 
the first results, in modern times, of an inquiry into 
the philosophy of spoken language. 

As speech consists of a succession of syllables ac- 
cented or emphatic, and unaccented, Mr. Steele 
supposes all discourse to be separated into parts j 
which being made in reference to accents, may be 
called accentual sections. These he includes be- 
tween vertical bars, as in the following notation: 

*| In the | second | century | *] of the | christian 
era | "] the | empire of | Rome | "| compre | hended the 
j fairest | part of the | earth | "] and the [ most "] | civi- 
lized | portion of man | kind | 

The constructive principles of the accentual sec- 



492 0F THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 

tions are these. The first syllable of each section is 
accented, that is, a bar is to be drawn before each 
accented syllable or emphatic monosyllabic-word. 
But it appears in the fourth section of the above ex- 
ample, that a bar is drawn before the particle " of" 
which is neither accented nor emphatic. In this case, 
(and there are others like it in the example) the 
place of the accented syllable is supplied by a short 
pause, which is here signified by a symbol re- 
sembling a musical rest. Each section is supposed 
to contain a heavy and a light portion •, the heavy be- 
ing the accented syllable and the light the unac- 
cented. If in appointing the notation, by affixing a 
bar before the heavy syllable, there should be no 
light or unaccented part in the section, as must hap- 
pen when two accented or emphatic words imme- 
diately succeed each other, a pause must occupy its 
place 5 as in the section consisting of " most" in the 
above example. When the first part of the section 
is an indefinite quantity the use of the subsequent 
pause, may be superseded by prolonging the accent- 
ed word to the required duration of the section, as 
in the word " Rome :" for it is either a truth, or the 
assumption of this system, that all the accentual sec- 
tions are equal in time, like the bars in music. If 
the number of syllables included between the bars 
is so many as to require an improper precipitancy 
of utterance, in order to make the time of the sec- 
tions equal, it becomes necessary to throw in a bar 
before the light syllables of that precipitate group, 
and to set a symbol of rest in the place which would 
have held the heavy or accented syllable, if the 



OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 493 

section had been entire. Thus in the example, we 
might say century of the in one section ; but 
when the sentence is read deliberately this section 
is too long. It is better ordered in the example, 
by a subdivision, and by putting a slight pause in 
that place which should be occupied by an accent- 
ed syllable. 

It will perhaps be asked here — what is the 
meaning of these divisions? And what useful pur- 
pose do they serve in instruction? 

All the works on elocution before the time of 
Mr. Steele, recommend the accurate accentuation 
of words, ana a strict attention to their separation, 
at the proper places for pausing. Mr. Sheridan in- 
deed has given a notation for rhetorical pause and 
emphasis. But he has proposed no scheme, to draw 
the attention of the pupil to the subject of accent 
That this subject is of the utmost importance in the 
schools of elocution, will be admitted by those who 
have observed the manner in which children learn 
to read : for the close attention which their igno- 
rance requires, and the slowness of utterance, lead 
them to lay an equal stress on every syllable or at 
least upon every word. 

This habit continues a long time after the eye 
has acquired a facility in following up discourse \ 
and in some cases this vice infects pronunciation 
throughout subsequent life. The notation of Mr. 
Steele which has a symbol for each degree of stress, 
would certainly obviate this tendency of accentua- 
tion, by marking both the heavy and the light syl- 
lables, and thus affording a guide to the pupil in 



494 OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 

the absence of the master. I do not say that these 
objects would not be attained, in a degree, by em- 
ploying the common mark of stress on all the accent- 
ed syllables of discourse. But even this is never 
done, and if it were, it would not be as definite as 
the conspicuous division by bars ; nor would it in- 
clude the indication of pause, together with other 
points enumerated in this system. 

One of the objects of a scientific institute is to 
point out what is necessary in the art, even if it is 
not able to tell the exact mode of executing it : and 
I will venture to assert that no person, who has 
heard of Mr. Steele's system of notation, will hesi- 
tate to acknowledge that it has set the phenomena 
of accentuation and pause before his attention, in a 
manner which had never occurred to him before ; 
but which when known, seems to spring immediate- 
ly out of what he did know before. 

This notation will not indeed inform us what syl- 
lables are to be accented or emphatic, nor where the 
pauses are to be placed : but it will enable a master, 
who knows how to order all these things in speech, 
to furnish that which most men require for every 
thing they do — a copy. If a boy is taught by a well 
appointed scoring in this method, he acquires the 
habit of attention to the subject of accentuation and 
pause, which may be readily applied by him in or- 
dinary discourse. 

I have here gladly embraced an opportunity to 
notice the labours of Mr. Steele, who was among 
the first to shriek out at the incubus of ancient pro- 
sody which had crouched so close on the bosom of 



OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 495 

his own and of every modern language. It was not 
my intention to set forth the whole of this system, 
nor to vouch for all its points. It has able advo- 
cates, and their works and lectures, both in this 
country and in Europe, render a design of this sort 
unnecessary from me. 

Mr. Steele's work is quite original, but it is not 
systematic - 3 and his contradistinction of what he calls 
poize, from the functions of time and stress, is alto- 
gether notional and cloudy* I have taken this short 
and perhaps unsatisfactory view of a part of his 
essay, merely as prefatory to the few following re- 
marks on the subject of rhythmus. 

The rhythmus of language is that perception 
which the ear has of accent, quantity arid pause. Or 
in other words, a certain succession of syllables, hav- 
ing different degrees of stress or quantity, and this 
succession being divided into portions by pauses, 
constitutes one important cause of the agreeable im- 
pression of the current of speech. 

There are two modes of disposing the alternate 
force and remission of stress, in the construction of 
rhythmus. One proceeds by a regular repetition of 
the same order of accents. This is called verse. 
The other has no formal arrangement of its strong 
and weak, or long and short syllables. This the 
reader must know is prose. The doctrine of the or- 

■ Mr. Steele first published his views, under the title named 
in the introduction, to this essay. A few years afterwards he 
gave a second edition of his work, with the title of u Prosodia 
Hationalis." In this last there is very little addition to the for- 
mer print; and that is not material to the system, 



496 0F THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 

der of syllables in verse constitutes what is called 
prosody. This subject having been largely treated 
by authors, and being beyond the design of this es- 
say, I shall pass it by, after stating that if English 
prosodists will look only at their own language, 
when they undertake to analyze it, and forget what 
the old grammarians have said upon time, which I 
am not prepared to admit that they themselves un- 
derstood, the subject may be made much more sim- 
ple in science, and more practically intelligible to 
the student. 

Though the broad distinction between prose and 
verse consists in the more irregular sequence of 
accent or quantity in the former : still they seem to 
compromise their differences to a certain degree in 
their respective attempts at excellence. For the best 
poetic rhythmus is that which admits an occasional 
introduction of deviations from the current of ac- 
centuation : but these deviations do not continue long 
enough to destroy the general character of regulari- 
ty 3 the order returning before the ear has forgotten 
its previous impression. Prose on the other hand, is 
constantly showing the beginnings of a regular 
rhythmus : but before any series of accent or quan- 
tity has time to fill the ear with its method, the cross 
purpose of a new succession breaks in upon the 
constantly inceptive character of verse. 

The sources of variety and beauty and force in 
rhythmus may be learned from the following gene- 
ral view of its construction. 

In ordinary pronunciation we may have several 
consecutive monosyllabic- words marked by the ab- 



OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 497 

rupt accent; in which case there is necessarily a mo- 
mentary pause between them : or there may be 
an accented syllable followed by one or more, and 
not exceeding six that are unaccented ; the average 
proportion, being about one accented syllable to 
three unaccented. Hence it appears that the divi- 
sions which I have called accentual sections, and 
which are included between the vertical bars of Mr. 
Steele's notation, may consist of from one to five 
syllables, and with considerable care and skill in 
the effort, sometimes of six. j Consequently if a 
rhythmus were formed on the function of accent 
alone, a series of these differently constituted sec- 
tions, would furnish the ground work for conside- 
rable variety. Thus in the above example, the 
sections consist of from one to four syllables j for the 
third and fourth may be thrown together by omit- 
ting the bar and the pause, without at all obscuring 
the sense : and these being arranged in varied suc- 
cession, is one of the causes of the agreeable rhyth- 
mus of this sentence. 

I hope the reader will not now deny that the ear 
is equally attracted by quantity and by stress. When 
therefore that accident is employed in composition 
the means of variety are multiplied. In the fol- 
lowing sentence I have marked in italics, those syl- 
lables which put in the full impression of their quan- 
tity, and thereby add dignity to the widely varied 
rhythmus. 

The masters of the fairest and most wealthy climates of 
t\\e globe, turned with contempt from gloomy hills, assailed bv 

3 s 



498 OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 

the winter tempest, from lakes concealed in a blue mist and 
from cold and lonely heaths, over which the deer of the forest 
were chased by a troop of naked bar&arians. 

Besides the variety and impressivenessthus arising 
from stress and quantity, the rhythmic effect is fur- 
ther diversified by including one or more accentual 
sections within the boundary of pauses. Iflmaybe 
allowed the useful economy of the term, I would call 
the portion of discourse so formed, Pausal sections. 
They *nay consist of a single word : but the perspi- 
cuity or beauty of utterance, and the structure of 
style rarely admit of their containing more than 
twenty syllables. In the following example I have 
included the pausal sections between the upright 
bars, that the order and variety of the succession 
may be surveyed by the eye. I have marked 
merely the place of the pauses, in clear and impres- 
sive reading, without designating the several dura- 
tions of those pauses. 

It is gone | that sensibility of principle | that chastity of 
honor | which felt a stain | like a wound | which inspired 
courage j whilst it mitigated ferocity | which ennobled what- 
ever it touched | and under which [ vice itself | lost | 
half its evil | by losing all its grossness. | 

The effect of the variety I am endeavouring to 
illustrate, may perhaps be made more conspicuous 
by contrasting it with the monotony of the antithis- 
tic style. The following sentence exhibits the most 



OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 499 

affected and laboured art in the construction of its 
pausal sections. 

When I took the first survey of my undertaking | I found 
our speech | copious j without order and energetic 

without rules | wherever I turned my view | there was per- 
plexity I to be disentangled | and confusion to be regulated 
I choice was to be made | out of boundless variety | without 
any established principle of selection | adulterations were to be 
detected | without any settled test of purity | and modes of 
expression | to be rejected or received | without the suffra- 
ges of any writers of classical reputation | or acknowledged 
authority. | 

Such a measuring system when used occasionally 
and within becoming limits may give a rousing spi- 
rit to discourse. But when it is the diffusive vani- 
ty of composition, it is apt to delude the author into 
a belief that his ideas are not common-places. It 
indicates a formality and stiffness of the ear ; makes 
a mere lip-labor of speech, and shuts out the strong 
lights of verbal delineation. To me there is a want 
of dignity in this manner ; and the dealers in such 
a Khythmus scarcely perceive how near they ap- 
proximate to the principle of the ludicrous : for 
when its features are slightly surcharged by car- 
ricature, it really becomes so. The principle 
to which I allude, is that of a resemblance in 
sound, with a difference in sense. The similarity 
in the number of words, together with the like pla- 
ces of their accents, and the equal count of sylla 



§00 OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 

bles, under which some writers set forth the strong- 
est antithesis in ideas or sentiments, has not exactly 
the equivocation of a pun, but it always reminds 
me of it. 

The monotonous effect of a series of similar pausal 
sections is conspicuous in the following example 
from the poems of Ossian. It is however fair tore- 
mark that as there are but two trisyllabic words in 
the extract, and not one polysyllable, the defect of 
variety in accent and remission must be taken into 
account, in the faults of its rhythmus. 

And is the son of Semo fallen ? | mournful are Tura's walls. 
| Sorrow dwells at Dunscai. | Thy spouse is left alone in 
her youth. | \he son of thy love is alone! [ He shall come to 
Bragela, | and ask why she weeps ? | He shall lift his eyes 
to the wall, | and see his father's sword. | Whose sword is that? 
| he will say. | The soul of his mother is sad. | Who is that, 
j like the hart of the desert, ] in the murmur of his course? | 
His eyes look wildly round | in search of his friend. | Conal | 
son of Colgar | where hast thou been | when the mighty fell ? | 
Did the seas of Cogorma roll round thee ? | Was the wind of 
the south in thy sails ? | The mighty have fallen in battle, | 
and thou wast not there. | Let none tell it in Selma, | nor in 
Morven's woody land. | Fingal will be sad, | and the sons of 
the desert | mourn. | 

The pausal sections are here nearly all of equal 
length, and this cause, together with the frequent 
occurrence of the cadence, produces the wearisome 
character of the rhythmus. Doctor Johnson once 
said that there were many men and women and 



OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 50 1 

children in Britain who could write such poems as 
those ascribed to Ossian. I have too many agreea- 
ble and grateful recollections of Scotland, to quarrel 
with her patriotism on this point : but surely there 
is not a Roscius any where who can read them. 
We have indeed a vast fund for variety, in the ele- 
ments of speech ; but I doubt their sufficiency to 
meet the demands of this composition, without trans- 
gressing the rules of a just and expressive into- 
nation. In short the passage, like many others by 
better poets, cannot be read with satisfaction, before 
the judgment of a discerning ear. 

Let us compare the preceding extract with the 
few first lines of Burke's episode on the Queen of 
France : which in elegance, variety and impressive- 
nessof mere rhythmus, and exclusive of some rhe- 
torical ostentation, is not surpassed in the English 
language. 

That both the accentual and pausal sections may 
be graphically made, I here present it under Mr, 
Steele's notation, as scored by Dr. Barber in his 
" Exercises in Reading and Recitation :" omitting 
the symbols for the heavy and light accent. 

1 It is | now, | sixteen or | seventeen | years | "J since 
I | saw the | queen of | France, *| | then the | Dauphin- 
ess, | -j at Ver | sailles : | "| "] \ "] and | surely | nevei 
| lighted on this | orb, | "] which she | hardly | seemed to J 
touch, 1 | ■] a | more de | lightful | vision. | "\ *] | "] *] | ] 
I | saw her | just a | bove the ho | rizon, | *| "] | de- 
corating and | cheering | "] the | elevated | sphere | *] 
she | just be | gan to | move in: | "] *] | glittering | "^ like 



502 OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH. 

the | morning | star; | 1 "J j full of | life, "| | 1 and | 
splendor, | *J and | joy. | 

Oh! | what a | revo | lution! Mill and | what a | 
heart "j | must I | have, | *] to con | template | "] with | 
out e j motion, | that "] | "] ele | vation | "| and | that*] | fall. | 

The agreeable effect of this rhythmus may be 
traced to the following causes. 

First. The alphabetic elements, are varied 
throughout : and except the repetition of sound in 
" teen" and in the words " lighted'' and " delight- 
ful," " cheering" and " sphere," they do not press 
upon each other. 

Secondly. The words have from one to four syl- 
lables ; and these are finely alternated with each 
other. The accentual sections vary from one to five 
syllables in extent. 

Thirdly. The Pausal sections consist of from two 
words to ten : and their different lengths are inter- 
mingled in succession. 

Fourthly. The effect is still further varied, by an 
occasional coincidence of the temporal accent with 
that of stress : and the dignity and force of the phra- 
seology is heightened, by the occurrence of these 
long syllabic quantities at the place of the pauses : as 
in the words years, Versailles, orb, horizon, sphere, 
move, star, joy and/aW. 

Fifthly. The order of the rhythmus has just 
enough regularity to produce the smooth effect of 
verse, without allowing the reader to anticipate any 
subsequent measure 



OF THE RHYTHMUS OF SPEECH, 503 

The only exception 1 am disposed to make to the 
commendation of the rhythmus of this extract, is 
that of the consecutive accents at its termination. A 
spondaic cadence, except it is for some extraordi- 
nary case of expression, or for variety in a series of 
short sentences, is always, to me at least, disagree- 
able. 

The instances of rhythmus which have been se- 
lected, are from prose-composition of elevated sen- 
timent, and dignified style. But the plainest phra- 
seology may be brought under the influence of the 
same rules of accent, quantity and pause. In the 
hands of a person of fine rhythmic ear, even a let- 
ter of business, with its enumeration of particulars, 
may be made to flow with variety and smoothness. 

It is unnecessary to go into a further detail on 
the subject of rhythmus. Much might be said in 
illustration of its powers and beauties, both as exist- 
ing in the current of discourse and in the conspicu- 
ous place of the cadence. But we leave this to the 
Rhetoricians. 



SECTION XLIX. 

Of the Faults of Readers. 

It is a prevailing opinion that persons who speak 
their own sentiments, in social intercourse, always 
speak properly : and that transferring this natural 
manner as it is called, to formal reading and recita- 
tion will ensure propriety of utterance. 

This idea has arisen from an ignorance of the func- 
tions which constitute the beauties and defects of 
speech. Without a knowledge of that analysis which 
must be the foundation of definite criticism, teachers 
have been obliged to refer to the spontaneous ef- 
forts of the voice as the only assistant means of in- 
struction. It is true, the natural manner is more like 
the coveted excellence, than the first attempts of 
the pupil in reading ever are ; but still the faults of 
ordinary speech, are similar to those of reading, 
though they are less apparent. Perhaps this opi- 
nion has proceeded from a belief that a just execu- 
tion must necessarily follow a full understanding of 
the sense, and a true feeling of the sentiment of dis- 
course, both of which accompany unpremeditated 
speech. No one indeed can read correctly or with 
elegance if he does not both understand and feel 
what he utters: but these are not exclusively the 
means of success. Sense and feeling must have a 
well tempered material in the voice to work upon. 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 505 

I admit that the self-prompted efforts of speech 
exhibit in some instances, that propriety of em- 
phasis and intonation, which are required for com- 
mon narrative and argument and passion. But they 
are very far from satisfying that close discrimina- 
tion and comparison which are sure to be made upon 
speech, when offered to the ear of taste. 

I admit likewise the almost unaccountable differ- 
ence sometimes observed between the capabilities 
of the colloquial voice, and the same voice when ex- 
erted in a formal attempt to read. Mr. Rice in his 
" Introduction to the art of Reading" relates the 
case of a person, who failed to repeat, with even 
tolerable propriety, the very words purposely 
written down, which he had been overheard to ut- 
ter spontaneously, with all correctness in empha- 
sis and expression. There seems, in such cases to 
be no want of energy of mind or feeling, nor of flexi- 
bility in the voice. But when a discourse, embrac- 
ing any sense and sentiment, is read, even by its 
author, the occupation of the eye distracts attention 
from the meaning, or permits it to be fully recog- 
nised, only when shown upon a single point. For 
if it is to be gathered from many words, the neces- 
sary forerunning and retrospection of the eye, to- 
gether with its present employment, render the 
proper management of the voice impracticable to 
those who have not, by long exercise in the art of 
reading, acquired an almost involuntary habit of as- 
sociating the functions of speech with correspond- 
ing thoughts and feelings. 

But whatever mav be the cause of the difficulties 



506 0F THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

of reading well, faults and flagrant ones too do pre- 
vail in the art. Having therefore prepared the way 
for pointing out the nature of these faults, by des- 
cribing the pure and elegant uses of the elements, I 
shall now endeavour to make the reader acquainted 
with the analysis of the most common deviations 
from what we have presumed to adopt as the stand- 
ard of excellence. 

It is true as above implied, that he who under- 
takes to note the defects in an art, must carry in his 
practice or eye, the knowledge of its perfections. 
Faults are, every where, but relatives to merits ; 
and in elocution, they are only the misplacing of 
those elements which constitute its beauties : whilst 
some of the finest colors of the art are dipped from 
its very faults. He who declares his perception of 
blemishes, and yet cannot at the same time define 
and enumerate graces, speaks without candour, or 
as the dupe of some authority. Let us then try to 
perform these inseparable duties, by giving the 
outline of a just and elegant elocution, along with 
a particular enumeration of the vices of utterance. 

In treating of the phenomena of speech, I have 
always kept in view the best usages of taste. It 
will be little more than a recapitulation therefore 
to say — The faultless reader should possess for vari- 
ous occasions, all the qualities of voice from the full 
laryngeal bass of the orotund, to the lighter and 
lip-issuing sound of daily conversation. He should 
give distinctively that pronunciation of single ele- 
ments and their aggregates, both as to quantity and 
accent, which accords with the habitual percep- 



OF* THE FAULTS OF READERS. 5Q7 

tions of his audience. His plain melody should be 
diatonic, and varied in radical pitch, beyond discov- 
erable monotony. His simple concrete should be 
equable in its rise, and in the diminution of its van- 
ish. His tremor should be under full command for 
the occasions of grief and exultation. Observation, 
judgment and education must have settled for him, 
the places and degrees of emphasis ; and a know- 
ledge of its many forms, must have suggested the 
employment of them for variety and expression. He 
should be able to protract his "voice through every 
extent of quantity, and in every concrete interval 
of the rising and falling scale. He must have learned 
to put off from the dignified places of reading that 
canting intonation which the planned courtesies and 
sacrificing servilities of life too often confirm into 
habit ; and to moderate in his interrogations that 
keenness which is bred up in the vulgar tongue, by 
the idle inquisitiveness of the worlds impertinent 
curiosity. Finally he should have for this, as for 
every other Fine art, a delicate sense of the sub- 
lime, the graceful and the ridiculous. A quick per- 
ception of the last, is absolutely necessary to guard 
the exalted works of taste against the accidental oc- 
currence of its causes. 

It may be considered presumptuous in any one 
to pretend to fix a standard in the art of Speaking 
well. Before the analytical development of speech 
this could not have been done. The discovery of 
the elements has now been accomplished ; suffici- 
ently at least to advance some steps towards a sys- 
tem : and it seems no unfair anticipation of what 



50S OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

must hereafter form the great point in the schools 
of elocution, — to suggest such a use of these ele- 
ments as may satisfy the cultivated ear. 

In marking out the basis for a system in this art 
I looked to the purest instincts of nature in children 
and brute animals, for instances of passionate ex- 
pression : and to choice examples in common life, 
and on the stage, for the best effects producible on 
the individual and combined elements of speech. 
By selection from these sources, I have endeavour- 
ed to frame an ideS pattern of vocal beauty and 
precision and force. 

But I was not slightly influenced by a percep- 
tion of the fitness of the system which has been sug- 
gested. The term fitness may be explained by re- 
ference to a part of the foregoing analysis. We 
made a distinction, and future time shall see its 
importance, between the plain diatonic melody, and 
the employment of the semitone, and higher inter- 
vals of the scale. Now few speakers make a proper 
selection from these constituents : their plain dis- 
course being frequently intonated in the vanish of 
the third or fifth, or, with the peculiar movement 
of the wider ranges of the wave. Such an appli- 
cation of these striking intervals annuls the final 
cause of nature, in the institution of different inten- 
sities of pitch : confounds their intended distinc- 
tions : disturbs the repose of the ear on the unim- 
passioned diatonic : and wears down that sharpness 
of the higher intervals, which is required for the 
occasional purposes of strong expression. This is 
what is meant by drawing a system from the fit- 
ness of the thing. 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 5Q9 

There is another consideration which will justify 
the establishment of a system of some kind, if it will 
not plead for the one which has been offered. When 
the constituents of speech are described and known, 
the precision of their use must become an object of 
attention and criticism with an audience If there 
be an admitted rule for their application, the repre- 
sentation of thought and sentiment, will be more 
uniform, and expression will therefore have more 
force. When we vary the sign of the same thought 
we take from the clearness of its meaning. If we 
constantly whine in the chromatic melody, or cry 
out emphatically in the wider intervals and in the 
wave, to no purpose of complaint or surprise, we 
shall in vain seek for sympathy when the wolf 
of feeling in reality seizes upon us. 

In looking for a standard of excellence in the art 
of elocution, we are always referred, as in the other 
fine arts, to Nature. But nature in this high pattern- 
capacity eludes the power of definition : and like 
liberty with a patriot, orthodoxy with a sectarian, 
experience with a physician, and right with a moral- 
ist—shows as many faces as there are tongues that 
take her name in vain. If nature is to be the ca- 
non she must be so by the single instances she pro- 
duces. If her excellencies are scattered over the 
species, it is art that must collect them into one in- 
dividual : and where is the individual in nature 
worthy of imitation 1 Is it to be found in the drawl 
of the spiritless ? In the snappish stress of the pet- 
ulant 1 In the eternal whine of the unhappy ? The 
short quantity and precipitate time of the frivolous ° 



j]0 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

In the continued diatonic of the saturnine ? In 
the even drift, whatever be its mode, of the pas- 
sion-masking hypocrite—Or in the efforts of those 
morbid sensibilities which exaggerate every feel- 
ing ? Shall we find nature's paragon among the 
chatterings of the greal market of life, that hur- 
ries through its melody by the straight line of the 
monotone ; that denies itself the repose of the ca- 
dence 5 and that in bidding for its bargains of trade 
or fame or place, strains itself to the topmost note 1 
These are the individual instances of vocal de- 
formity presented by nature, which we daily suffer 
to pass without comment, because we are engaged 
at the moment with other thoughts and designs : and 
which we perceive only when the voice itself, as a 
matter of taste, is the exclusive object of attention. 
But though nature affords no single instances of 
general excellence in speech, she has diffused 
throughout the species all the elements of perfec- 
tion : and it II the gathering in of her proprieties 
and beauties which constitutes the Art of Elocution. 
The Canon, so called, of statuary in Greece, 
which represented no singly-existing form, was pro- 
duced by Polycletus only after ages of gradual im- 
provement. If individual nature might be taken as 
a model in the arts we would not at this late day 
be so often obliged to listen to bad readers ; nor to 
hear such clashing opinions, upon those who pass for 
the best. The productions of taste would have 
forerun their present needed cultivation 5 and in 
reverse of the tedious growth of centuries, would 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 51^ 

Jike the garden of Eden, have been ripe at their 
planting. 

Imagine yourself, says the master in Elocution, 
to be delivering the sentiments of an author as if 
they were your own. 

I grant that such a rule may supply the want of 
better instruction ; it may serve for common-place 
sentiments and thoughts, and may exempt a pupil 
from some of the greater faults of speech. On the 
other hand, suppose the art of reading to be exert- 
ed in representing the utmost power of description 
and imaginative creation by a poet. How will the 
rule of substitution meet this case ? I have more 
than once seen, on the stage, the pitiable result of 
a designed imitation of nature. 

All the Fine Arts are essentially arts. The high 
execution of their works and the full prizing of them 
are purely the result of close observation, exten- 
sive comparison, and choice selection and combina- 
tion of the scattered constituents of their respective 
subjects. 

Many of the faults of speakers, arise from their 
being taught by imitation alone. As long as there 
has been a history of the stage, so long, actors have 
been classed in the school of some predecessor or 
cotemporary master. But inasmuch as there is al- 
ways one who by chance or merit is the leading 
spirit of the lustrum, (for where there are no prin- 
ciples to direct instruction, even five years is a lono- 
life for fashionable fame,) it generally happens that 
his faults may be recognised throughout a crowd of 
pupils and imitators. From the want of some de- 



512 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS 

finite corrective, the bad reading of the pulpit some- 
timeSjinfects a whole class of students ; who circum- 
scribe the active benefits of their master's solemn 
instruction, by taking up his sinful elocution. 

It may be said — If we establish a system of prin- 
ciples, all readers must be of one school 5 and this 
will be equivalent to imitation. There would be 
one school ; but the similarity would not be in its 
errors. Many actors who differ from each other in 
their faults, yet perform some short sentences with 
identical excellence, without exciting a remark. It 
is only upon one of those violent outrages in ut- 
terance, that we hear in a moment the whispered 
name of a prototype, from twenty parts of a thea- 
tre. The noted imitation of the merits of a master 
either doubles the pleasure of the scene by associ- 
ation ; or we forget the original through the delight- 
ful repetition of his perfections. Grave copies in 
speech, like its gay mimickries are generally made 
on bad pronunciation, monotony, whining, false ca- 
dence or no cadence at all, and precipitate and un- 
accountable transitions. 

But enough of argument on this subject. The art 
of elocution has never presented that abstract com- 
position, which in analogy with the delineation of 
Form, may be called the ideal beauty of speech. 
The mere instinct of individual nature has been fol- 
lowed, and the best skill of the voice has perhaps 
fallen short of the yet reserved resources of oral ac- 
complishment : whilst the common herd of preten- 
ders afford an endless list of deformities. 

In noticing the faults of readers 1 do not wish to 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 513 

speak of the natural defects of the voice. It is diffi- 
cult however, to draw a distinction on this subject. 
Too many of the wilfi* vices of life > through self- 
delusion, pass for m^ ortunes : and ** can scarcely 
be made a quests whether the impudent display 
of even natu^ x tailings should not shut out the sub- 
ject fro^ fulgent commiseration. 

'j^re are three points, of the first importance to 

a ^eaker : and if the deficiencies in them are not 

j be called misfortunes, we may rank them as great 

and generic faults. I mean the defects of the Mind, 

of the Ear, and of Industry. 

Speech is intended to be the sign of every mode 
of thought and feeling. If therefore the mind of a 
scholar be not raised to that generality of condition 
which can assume all the powers of expression, he 
will in vain aspire to great eminence in the art. If 
his mind is endued only with the diplomatic virtue 
of unruffled caution . if it is of that class which com- 
pliments itsown Julncss by calling energy violence, 
and which drawls forth its wonder at the enigma of 
zeal: if all its busy goings are but around the little 
circles of ifc own selfish schemes : if it has yet to 
hear and never can be convinced that success in 
every art, is not more indebted to the plans of 
sagacity than to the perseverance of passion : — if 
the mind, I repeat it, is of such a cast, its posses- 
sor may perhaps by his best assiduity, satisfy his 
own uncircumspect judgment and taste, but he can 
never reach the higher accomplishments in elo- 
cution. 
3 r 



514 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

In speaking of the mental requisites for good 
reading, 1 must not overtook our frequent neglect 
to discriminate between stro, g feelings and delicate 
ones. The latter make the fin^j actor . and it is 
unfortunate for the art, that quaU-^ s which under 
proper cultivation insure success, a^ ee nerallv 
united with a modesty which retires from 1^ D ] aces 
and occasions for displaying its merits : whhV^ e 
former in reaching but the coarse energy of t^ 
passions, are able to figure on the stage, only as the 
outrageous Herod and the buffoon. 

The mind or nervous temperament must furnish 
the design, of elocution : the ear must watch over 
the lines and coloring of its expression. 

An ability to measure nicely the time, force and 
pitch of sounds, is indispensable to the higher ex- 
cellencies of speech. It is impossible to say how 
much of the musical ear, properly so called, is the 
result of cultivation, or an attention to the variations 
of sound. There is however a wide difference even 
in the earliest aptitudes of the ear ; and though the 
means of improvement derived from analysis may 
hereafter increase the proportional number of o-ood 
readers, and produce something like an equality 
among them, still the possession of a musical ear 
will with other requisites always give an unequiva- 
cal superiority. 

I have spoken more than once in this essay, of In- 
dustry, the third general means for success j the de- 
fect of which may be considered as an egregious 
fault in a speaker : and it certainly is the most cul- 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS 5J5 

pable. It is here placed on high ground, along with 
mental susceptibility and delicacy of ear, those es- 
sentials which have been designated by the indefinite 
term " genius." — In vain will the mind furnish its fi- 
nest discriminations, or the ear be ready with its 
measurements, if the tongue should not lend the 
perseverance of its practice. It was by a figure of 
speech which took a part for the whole of the senses, 
that the happy curse upon mankind, doomed the 
taste to be gratified by the sweat of the brow. The 
ear too, ran receive its full measure of delight, only- 
through the long labour of the voice. 

The faults of speakers are of almost infinite varie- 
ty : but they consist of no unnamed elements. It 
seems as if nature had assumed in her adjusted sys- 
tem of signs, all the practicable functions of the 
voice. The corrupting art of the tongue in deform- 
ing her works, makes no addition to their constitu- 
ents, but performs its part in human error, by mis- 
placing them. In pursuing the history of the faults 
of utterance, we may therefore follow something 
like the order which has more than once, in this 
essay, been given to the elements. 

Four general heads under which we considered 
the accidents of the voice, are Quality, Time, 
Force, and Pitch. 

Of Faults in Quality. — This subject is so well 
known both in the art and by common terms, that it is 
unnecessary to be particular with it. Harshness or 
roughness may be mentioned as one of the disagree- 
able qualities of the voice. The nasal is still more 



516 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS 

offensive. Shrillness may rather be called a quality 
than a state of Pitch. It never has dignity. It seems 
like a mockery of the voice : and though it is heard 
remotely and draws attention, it does it with the 
attraction of a caricature. I think the huskiness of 
aspiration is more apt to be united with the orotund 
voice. It does not indeed diminish its gravity and 
sober grandeur, but it affects the fulness and clear- 
ness of its vocality. 

The falsette sometimes exists as the current fault 
of a speaker. Such a person should speak on busi- 
ness and for his wants, but no more. We sometimes 
find voices on the stage, and in the senate and pul- 
pit, which show the deformity of the falsette only 
occasionally, by the melody breaking from the na- 
tural voice on a single . syllable. Every speaker 
has a falsette ; and the skilful can always guard 
against its improper use. When it occurs as a fault, 
it results either from the narrow compass of the 
natural voice, or from a defect of ear in the speak- 
er : for not having an accurate perception of his 
approach to the falsette, he is unable to avoid the 
evil by a ready descent of intonation. 

The falsette is common in the voices of women. 
It has with them a crying effect, even when not chro- 
matic : and the melody at this high pitch is more 
apt to be monotonous. 

Of Faults in Time. — I do not mean to speak here 
of reading too fast or too slow. There is nothing new 
to be - said on this point. But we who speak Eng- 
lish, are said by the report of the compilers of 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 5^7 

Greek and of Latin grammars, to know nothing of 
quantity, and to have none in the language. That 
bad readers, and persons who will not learn their 
own tongue, may know nothing of its quantity is 
readily granted; yet that it is an essential accident 
of every language, and that the neglect of it is a 
copious source of faults, must be admitted by any 
one who knows the definition of quantity and makes 
an inquiry into the uses of the voice. 

There are two faults in quantity. Syllables may 
be too long or too short. When sentiments requir- 
ing short time, such as gaiety and anger, are oth- 
erwise pronounced, it produces the vice of drawling. 
This drawling may go through its excessive quan- 
tity, either as a wave of the second, or an equal or 
unequal wave of higher intervals, or as the note of 
Recitative or Song. 

When deliberate or solemn discourse is hurried 
over in short syllabic quantity, the fault is no less 
apparent and offensive. This last named defect 
in reading, is by far the most common • and I have 
said more than once in this essay, because I wished 
to rouse the English ear to this subject, that the 
command over time in the pure equable-concrete 
of speech is only found in speakers of fervent feel- 
ing and long practice. Such persons acquire the 
use of protracted quantity, because it is through 
long syllables, that the powerful expression of con- 
crete intonation is effected. It is from ignorance 
of this fact, that some speakers, neglecting the va- 
riety and smoothness of the temporal emphasis, 



518 OF THE FAULTS OP READERS. 

o-ive prominence to important syllables only by 
some of the sharper modes of stress. 

Of Faults in Force. — The misapplication of loud 
and soft is sufficiently obvious. In the various 
forms of stress, the faults of speech have been less 
known and consequently less avoided. 

Though some persons, with a neglect of quantity, 
execute most of their emphasis by stress, yet even 
in the application of stress they are not free from 
faults. Some, after the manner of the Irish, em- 
ploy the vanishing force on all emphatic syllables. 
This has its meaning in expression, but it is mis- 
placed except on the occasions formerly pointed 
out. A want of the sharp and abrupt character of 
the radical is not an uncommon fault. It is most 
commonly found in the dull and indolent : for noth- 
ing shows at once so clearly, the elastic temper 
of the voice and mind, as the ability to explode 
suddenly this initial stress. 

It is not my intention to go into a notice of the 
faults of emphasis, in the common acceptation of 
the term. They all resolve into a want of true ap- 
prehension in the reader. It should, however, be 
remarked, that an ignorance of the other constitu- 
ents of speech, has given to this well known subject 
of emphasis, an importance which has assumed the 
very name of the whole art. " How admirably she 
reads'' said a thoughtless critic, of an actress, who, 
with a proper emphasis, was deforming her part by 
every fault of intonation. The critic was one of 
those who have neither knowledge nor docility ; I 
therefore made no explanations. Emphasis being 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 5]g 

almost the only branch of the art in which there is 
any thing like an approach towards a rule of in- 
struction, this single function, by a figure of speech 
grounded on its importance, is taken in the narrow 
nomenclature of criticism for the sum of the art. 
Even Mr. Kemble whose eulogy might have laid 
upon other merits, made the first fixture of his fame, 
if we have not been misinformed, by a new reading 
of some of the lines in Hamlet. 

We have given emphasis its just award of conse- 
quence. We have also given other elements theirs : 
and perhaps we may hereafter find, that much of 
the contention about certain unimportant points and 
balanced weights of emphasis, has arisen from cri- 
tics on the drama finding very little else of the vast 
compass of speech, on which their discriminations 
would be comprehensible. Let therefore the banner 
be hung on the outer wall of Macbeth's castle, or let 
his retainers cry there : and let Goldsmith's countrj' 
clergyman be either passing rich, superlatively, or 
let him more moderately pass for rich, with his forty 
pounds a year : we may perhaps discover, when 
we have more things in the voice to study and to 
delight in, that some of these additions to the lore 
of italic notation, now serving to keep up contention 
in a daily journal, will often be overlooked, in the 
high court of philosophic criticism. 

I pass by the faults of pronunciation which de- 
pend on the misplacing of accents on syllables. Pro- 
priety in this matter is set forth in the dictionary, 
and the errors of speech may be measured by its 
rules. 



520 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

I deprecate noticing the faults of speakers, in 
the pronunciation of the alphabetic elements. It is 
better for criticism to be modest on this point, till 
it has the sense or independence to make our al- 
phabet, and its uses, look more like the work of 
what is called — wise and transcendent humanity : 
till the pardonable variety of pronunciation, and 
the true spelling by the vulgar have satirised into 
reformation, that pen-craft which keeps up the trou- 
bles of orthography for no other purpose, as one 
can divine, than to boast of a very questionable merit 
as a criterion of education. 

Of Faults in Pitch. — Speech has been peculiarly 
one of those subjects, in which we often pronounce 
upon the right and the wrong, without being able to 
say why they are so. We have resolved the obscuri- 
ty in respect to the beauties of intonation ; it will be 
easy on similar principles of analysis, to give the 
ground work of its faults. 

Of Faults in the Concrete Movement. — There is a 
certain elegance of sound in speakers, quite indepen- 
dent of the beauties of quality, though much height- 
ened in combination with them, which consists in 
the peculiar, and attenuated vanish of the concrete. 
Now the vanishing and the thorough stresses, which 
have their right uses occasionally in expression, are 
sometimes misplaced, and thereby destroy the func- 
tion here spoken of. The vanishing stress was illus- 
trated by the Irish pronunciation. The thorough 
stress gives a rusticity to speech. Some speakers 
seem incapable of carrying on a long quantity 
through the equable concrete, giving in place of it 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 53 \ 

the note of song or recitative. The most remarkable 
instance of the former is that of the public preach- 
ing of the Friends, which I shall particularly de- 
scribe among the faults in melody. Recitative-in- 
tonation in speech is not so common as the note of 
song : it will be spoken of again. 

Of Faults in the Semitone. Who has not heard of 
whining 1 It is the misplaced use of the semitone. 
The semitone is the language of love, tenderness, 
petition, complaint, and doubtful supplication: 
but never of manly confidence, and the authorita- 
tive self-reliance of truth. This is the point which 
entraps the sycophant, and even the hypocrite him- 
self. They assume a gentle persuasion, or a more 
tuneful cant, not only because they wish to make it 
appear that they are moved by a kind and affec- 
tionate spirit, but because they distrust themselves, 
and are therefore governed by the feeling of craving 
inferiority. The honesty of conviction calls for no 
subsidiary means of this sort I suspicion should 
therefore be awake, when seeming truth or bene- 
volence is proffered under this cringing intonation. 

The chromatic melody is more common among 
women. Actresses are prone to this fault, and this 
is one of the causes which frequently prevent 
their assuming the matron-rule of tragedy, and the 
dignified severity of epic reading. They sometimes 
intercede, threaten, complain, smile, and call the 
footman, all in the semitone. They can vow and 
love and burst into agony in Belvidera ; but cannot 
with masculine ambition, order the scheme of mur- 
der in Lady Macbeth. 
3 x 



522 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

The sentiments signified by the semitone, have 
been enumerated. Whenever it supplants the pro- 
per diatonic melody, it becomes a fault, and begins 
to be monotonous; for when it is appropriate it never 
is so. I once saw the part of Dr. Cantwell, in the 
"Hypocrite," played in the chromatic melody 
throughout. Perhaps it suited the mock virtue of 
the pious villain, but it certainly produced a pall- 
ing monotony on the ear ; and the want of transition 
in voice, when he throws off the mask, in ad- 
dressing his patron's wife, was remarkable. He was 
the knave and the lover in the same intonation. On 
the whole, the effect would have been more agree- 
able, if an abated, slow, and monotonous drift of 
the second had prevailed, with the use of the chro- 
matic melody when required by the sentiment. 

Of Faults in the Second. — The ear has its green 
as well as the eye ; and the interval of the second 
in correct and elegant speech, like the verdure of 
the earth, is widely distributed to relieve sensation 
from the fatiguing stimulus of more vivid impres- 
sions. Though the diatonic melody, is the predomi- 
nating hue of a well composed elocution, is simple 
and unobtrusive, and thus affords a fine ground for 
bringing out the contrasted color of more expressive 
intonation ; it does, when continued into the place 
of this higher intonation, assume a positive char- 
acter under the form of a fault. 

The most striking instance of the misapplication 
of the second, is its employment for the sentiments 
which properly require the semitone. There are 



OP THE FAULTS OP READERS. 593 

some persons of such a dull and frigid tempera- 
ment, or with such inflexible organs, even when 
the feeling is not wanting, that they seem incapa- 
ble, under ordinary motives, of executing the chro- 
matic melody. Pain or the excitement of their self- 
ish instincts will produce it : But in them it seems 
to be so slightly associated with a general tender- 
ness of feeling, or so much beyond the limit of the 
will, that the most pathetic passages are given in 
the comparatively phlegmatic intonation of the dia- 
tonic melody. We sometimes see actors of such a 
temperament, on the emergencies of a night, cast 
to the part of lovers : and may occasionally hear 
from the pulpit the most fervent appeals of the Lit- 
any, and the humble petitions of extemporary pray- 
er, uttered with the same matter of fact intonation 
which is adapted to the repetition of the multiplica- 
tion table. 

Some persons are so bound to the monotony of 
the second, (for when this element is thus misplaced 
it has the effect of monotony,) that we are often 
more indebted to grammatical construction, than 
to the voice, for a perception of their interrogations. 
It is the same too with their emphasis in those con- 
ditional and positive sentences which, for impres- 
sive and varied effect, respectively require the 
rising and falling interval of the third or fifth or 
octave. 

One of the most important functions of the second, 
is its agency in the successions of melody. We spoke 
formerly of the best effect of the diatonic progres- 



524 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

sion of concrete and of radical pitch, produced by 
the varied composition of the six phrases. We have 
now to learn how far the common practice of read- 
ers, deviates from this assumed perfection. 

Of Faults in the Melody of Speech. — If the rule laid 
down in this essay, for constructing an agreeable 
melody, is exact, I must by that rule declare I have 
never heard a*f speaker with a faultless melody. 
Players spend their time before mirrors, till grace 
of person is studied into mannerism, and expression 
of feature distorted into grimace. Emphasis too is 
teased in experiment, through every word of a sen- 
tence, and tested in authority, by all the traditions 
of the Green-Room : but who has ever thought of 
the succession of pitch in his syllables, or imagined 
that faults may lie there ? 

The First fault to be noticed is that of the conti- 
nued use of the monotone, or keeping on the same 
line of radical pitch ; the vanish of the second or of 
higher intervals, being properly performed. I do 
not here mean that monotony which writers have 
observed, and have illustrated by the drawl of the 
parish clerk ; for this is the note of song, and will 
be spoken of presently. The defect of variation, 
in radical pitch, now under consideration is not so 
glaring as this old conventicle tune, nor has it at all 
the character of song. I wish I could be near the 
reader, to show the nature of this fault without a 
further waste of words. All I can say in descrip- 
tion is, that it takes from speech a very agreeable 
effect arising from a perception of the contrast of 
pitch in the falling ditone ; as the transition in this 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 525 

case is made from a feeble vanish, to a full ra- 
dical, which in the diatonic succession, is at the dis- 
tance of two tones below the summit of that vanish. 
One of the causes of this fault in public speakers 
deserves to be remarked here. I spoke of vocife- 
ration as a means for imparting vigour and fulness 
to the voice. But this exercise being made on a 
high pitch sometimes tends to corrupt the style of 
melody. Speakers who address large assemblies, 
and who have not that clear vocality and distinct 
articulation which produce the requisite reach of 
voice, generally attempt to remedy the defect by 
rising to the utmost limit of the natural compass; and 
hold their current just below the falsette. For fear 
of breaking into this, they dare not vary the melo- 
dy by taking their pitch alternately higher : and the 
desire to preserve the diffusive .effect of shrillness 
does not allow them to descend by radical changes. 
They consequently continue on one monotonous 
line : and thus vitiate their taste by the partial pleas 
of their own example, impair their melodic flexibi- 
lity, if I may so call it, and blunt their perception 
of the variety of movement in a more reduced cur- 
rent of pitch. 

This cause operates on the Bar, the Pulpit and the 
Stage •, where the demands of the space to be filled 
exceed the common powers of the voice -.but it is most 
conspicuous in the melody of those whose purposes 
lead them to address large crowds in the open air. 

Secondly. Melody is deformed by a predominance 
of the phrase of the monotone, together with a full 
cadence at every pause. This perhaps is only found 



526 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

in the first attempts at reading by children and 
rustics. 

Thirdly. By a mingling of the phrases of melody, 
but with a formal return of the same successions. 
In this case, the whole discourse seems subdivided 
into sections, nearly resembling each other in the 
order of pitch. The extent of these portions is ge- 
nerally determined by the length of entire sentences 
or by the shorter divisions of their members. And 
I may now make a remark which properly be- 
longs to the subject of rhythmus,— that this pecu- 
liar habit of the ear in marking the sections of melo- 
dy, as well as in forming accentual and pausal sec- 
tions, has a very close connexion with the character 
of style in a writer. It certainly cannot have es- 
caped observation that there is a tendency in some 
persons to give great similarity to the length of 
their sentences : atid this effect is in many instances 
dependent on their elocution. But the niceties of 
this subject will receive due consideration, at some 
future time, when we who speak English shall re- 
cover, or rather on this point, first receive common 
sense enough together with independence, to au- 
thorise a denial that the best method for studying 
our own language, is through the syntax and proso- 
dy of the Latin and the Greek. 

There is no special form of melody assumed by 
all speakers ; each one falls into a habit of his 
own : though it is plain, from the very method of 
construction, that there cannot be a great variety. 
All actors, except those of the first class, and they 
are not as finished on this point as they may be 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 5^7 

hereafter, all actors I say, are prone to this bird-like 
kind of intonation. They have a short run of melo- 
dy which if not forcibly interrupted by some pecu- 
liar expression, is constantly recurring. The return 
forms a kind of melodial measure : and I now call to 
mind an actress, in great vogue with the mass, whose 
intonation was filled with emphasis of thirds, fifths, 
octaves and waves, and whose melody could be anti- 
cipated with something like the forerunning of the 
mind over the rhythmus of a common stanza of alter- 
nate versification. Those who commit this fault will 
have no difficulty, in recognising and correcting it, 
when the mirror of analysis is held before them. 

The monotonous course of melody constitutes one 
of the signs by which the gallery, and some of their 
better dressed peers in the boxes, recognise the 
voices of famous actors, and think they represent 
their real points of excellence, when they mimic 
only what is strongly offensive and worthless. In 
the fault to which I allude, the section of the me- 
lody may consist of a properly varied succession 
of phrases : but its repetition soon makes you learn 
it too well. It reminds one of the festoon, which 
however beautiful in itself, was in abasement of 
Greek architectural taste, joined in endless continu- 
ation around the frieze ; instead of suggesting a re- 
semblance to that successive variety in composition 
which adorned the metopes of the Parthenon. 

Fourthly. I have known more than one speaker 
with this fault. — Sentences or members of senten- 
ces are begun on a high pitch, together with loud- 
ness, and ended on a low and almost inaudible pitch 



528 OF THE FAULTS OP READERS. 

and degree of feebleness : and this is continued 
throughout a whole discourse. It would be hard 
to find out the meaning of this fault, or to discover 
such a shadow of apology for it, as many worse of- 
fences in life can claim for themselves. 

One of the persons who was addicted to this mon- 
strous piece of affectation, for no natural or conven- 
tional motive could ever have suggested it, was, by 
the associates of his long since departed day of self- 
importance, called u a fine reader." Such instances 
of fame may serve to substantiate an assertion that 
there is no art in which self-imposition is more con- 
spicuous than in Elocution. Where there is no ac- 
knowledged rule of excellence, every one, whether 
cultivated or not, makes his own partialities or inter- 
ests the standard. They have learned somewhere 
that it is the part of good reading to fulfil the de- 
signs of sense and sentiment : and as each one in 
his attempts, fulfils his own conception of an author, 
he very conclusively supposes he has reached the 
full merits of the art. This is one reason why we 
find so much delusion on the subject of this ac- 
complishment. For, reputed u good readers ■* are 
often not merely negatively deficient ; they are 
frequently positively bad : and perverse as it may 
seem in the very teeth of the professed approbation 
of a majority, I have generally gone to learn the 
faults of speakers, when called to hear some star 
of elocution at the bar, in the senate, the pulpit, or 
the reading club. Loud noises, seem to have always 
been the delight of savages in their first steps to- 
wards music ; and the exaggerated or misemploy- 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 5£9 

ed, and therefore striking character of the elements 
of speech, is always most agreeable to the uninstruc- 
ed ear. 

Fifthly. — I illustrated, in the section on melody, 
the manner in which the transitions of pitch are 
made from one line, to another above or below. 
Some persons are unable to shift the concrete 
in this manner. This defect not only takes from 
the variety and life of utterance, but prevents a 
reader from extricating himself, which he should 
be able to do, from a very high or low pitch, when 
he has improperly set out in either. I have known 
a speaker descend to such a degree that he had 
not enough compass left, below the assumed line 
of his melody, to permit an audible execution of 
the last constituent of the cadence. He felt the feeble 
and unsatisfactory effect of his intonation, without 
knowing the cause of it : and being occupied in no- 
ticing his failure, he did not even accidentally fall 
into its rjemedy. 

In what a different light must the course of me- 
lody now appear to us, since we can carry in our 
conception, the progress of its undulation through 
the compass, and the distance of its fall in the ca- 
dence : and with what assurance may the knowledge 
of that structure, confer the power to avoid the 
fault here spoken of. 

We noticed formerly the circumstance of a read- 
er, with a good ear, having a sort of precursive per- 
ception of the falsette, sufficient to turn him from it, 
in his elevated melody. The same kind of anticir 
3 Y 



530 ^ F THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

pation of the lowest note, enables such a reader to 
keep his cadence within the range of his voice. 

Sixthly. — The use of the note of song instead of 
the equable concrete is one of the widest deviations 
from the characteristic of speech. We have shown 
that a proper melody (the diatonic let us suppose) 
consists of the equable movement of the radical and 
vanish through the interval of a second, with the 
agreeably varied radical-change through the same 
space : the current being occasionally broken by 
wider transitions, and by different modes of stress, 
according as the sentiments may require any of 
these additions upon emphatic words. 

This pure, agreeable and most forcible structure 
of melody is utterly deformed by the fault in ques- 
tion. And since we can now proceed analytically, 
let us give the specific name of Chant, to this 
mingling of the note of song, and another element 
to be shown presently, with the proper intonation 
of speech. 

In the history of man there is nothing more inde- 
finite than descriptions of the voice : but there 
is probable reason for believing that this chant is 
the puritanical whine which was affected so gene- 
rally in religious worship, in England, above two 
hundred years ago. It has been changed into other 
faults scarcely less censurable, with the pulpit of 
the present day. The society of Friends alone have 
retained it as a general practice : and it will not be 
regarded as either idle or invidious, by the curious 
and intelligent observers among them, to look into 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 53 \ 

the structure of the intonation, by the light of our 
preceding analysis. 

I shall first set down the notation of this kind of 
melody, and afterwards particularly explain it. 

I heard a voice from heaven say-in£, write, 



te^r / c y^Zj 



bless-ed are the dead who die in the Lord. 



fi a *g* ffi v- ^'V 



The whole of this melody, with the exceptions 
to be mentioned, I suppose to be chromatic, for it 
is in this mode the chant is generally made. 

The two first syllables are marked with the notes 
of song : the long summits of the vanishes being a se- 
mitone above the radicals. The article ' v a" is set 
at a third above the preceding note, in a symbol 
which has not been heretofore explained, because 
it properly belongs to song and to recitative. It 
consists of a prolongation of the radical portion of 
the element, and a subsequent quick descent 011 
the last or vanishing part. The intonation of the 
word "voice," is of the same kind, a tone below. 
" From" is made in the note of recitative, its vanish 
rising a third on the subtonic " ni." The two syl- 
lables of u saying'' are in the equable concrete. 
" Are,'' is in the note of recitative, rising a second. 
The three last symbols have the order and inter- 



532 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

vals of the triad of speech ; thus forming a proper 
cadence of the diatonic melody. The nature of the 
other signs may be seen in the notation. 

In the execution of this melody there is not only a 
general monotonous drift of song : but there are pecu- 
liar and striking contrasts, arising from the various 
effects of the changes among these different ele- 
ments of intonation. The most extraordinary liber- 
ties are taken with quantity. The long however 
predominates, as it is necessary for the notes of song 
and recitative. In this melody there is no ground 
for the distinction between immutable and indefi- 
nite syllables : the shortest are not only prolonged 
to any extent, as in " write," but they are divided, 
as in " voice/' which is apportioned to the two 
parts of its symbol, as if it were " voy" " is." I have 
put the cadence into the diatonic form to exempli- 
fy those abrupt and rousing alterations of the whole 
nature of intonation, which are sometimes made 
at the pauses and the close of this most fantastic 
melody. I have not exhibited all the varieties 
into which the above named elements, together 
with the tremor, and the wider intervals, are 
combined in it. But I have shown enough to fur- 
nish a plan for self-examination and amendment. 

If those who are accustomed to this melody 
should ask, why it may not be employed, if it is by 
habit agreeable, and reverenced by association with 
the occasions of its use ? I answer, that throwing aside 
taste, and regarding plain usefulness, — it does not 
accomplish the attainable ends of speech. By 
speech we communicate our thoughts : and in the 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 533 

duties of religion there are motives and zeal to do 
it with the most forcible means of persuasion or ar- 
gument. So far as the voice is concerned in these 
duties, its means lie principally in the energy and 
expression of emphasis. But by the mode of into- 
nation, in the remarkable melody now in view, the 
varying designs of emphasis are counteracted by 
the continued impression of the semitonic song : or 
they are crossed in purpose by the unmeaning ob- 
trusion of unexpected changes. How can the 
sentiments which dictate the encouraging descrip- 
tions of blessedness and glory, be represented by 
the trembling voice of distress ? How can the sober 
positiveness of truth, and the wonder at almighty 
power, which require the downward concrete, be 
enforced by the shrillness of a perpetual cry ? How 
can we particularize the strong feeling of supplica- 
tion, if we equally employ its symbols in the threats 
of vengeance 1 And with what force can we repre- 
sent interrogation, if the sharp vanishes, which are 
instinctively allotted to it, are so often unmeaning- 
ly playing in the voice 1 

Whoever regards the words of ordinary song, 
knows into what confusion emphasis isthere thrown. 
It is not more conspicuous or correct in the kind of 
melody we are now considering. 

I have thus made the strongest representation 
of this fault. It is sometimes heard in a more mo- 
derate degree, especially in the voices of women, 
consisting of a slight protraction of the top of the 
vanish on all the long quantities ofdiscourse. 

Seventhly. — We have learned that the note of 



534 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

Recitative sometimes finds its way into speech. In 
as much as this fault, like the last, is the error of 
long quantity, it is not so frequently heard in the 
quicker pronunciation of common life. I have oc- 
casionally met with it in a phlegmatic drawler. 
There is a peculiar deadness and monotony in its 
effect. It seems to tie up all the powers of the 
voice. On account of the short quantity and limited 
melodial -transition in speech, it has not the well 
known character of the proper recitative of musical 
composition. Some of the cases of this fault which 
have fallen under my notice, were associated with 
a monotonous current-melody, and a very misera- 
ble management of the cadence. I have heard it 
in an actor of high reputation. It was most con- 
spicuous in his endeavour to give long quantity 
to immu(able syllables. 

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased 
PZuck, &c. 

I have here marked in italics the letters on which 
the voice was kept in one line of pitch, till it sud- 
denly vanished at the termination of the syllable ; 
thus constituting the function of Recitative. The 
actor's fault was the lapse from a good design. He 
well knew the powers and purposes of quantity • 
but did not reflect enough on the impropriety of 
marring the time of an immutable syllable : or he 
was not aware of the practicability of carrying a 
subtonic element through the equable concrete. 

Of faults in the Cadence. If I were to designate 
any parts of utterance as particularly liable to 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 535 

faults, they would be those of the radical succession 
of melody, and the cadence. Even the best readers 
do not seem to have fallen accidentally into all the 
attainable variety, in the execution of the current 
and close of discourse. But faults in the cadence 
are the most striking. 

We can assign a cause for the frequent failures 
upon this point. 

Whoever will attend to the course of the voice in 
the common dialogue of life, will perceive that the 
earnest interests of speech, the sharp replications 
and interruptions of argument, the inquisitiveness 
of idle curiosity, and the piercing pitch of mirth 
and anger exclude, in a great measure, the termi- 
nating repose of the cadence. This is particularly 
the case with children and the ignorant, who hav- 
ing no spring of action except interested curiosity 
and selfish passion, rarely exhibit any intonation 
besides that of the higher and more expressive 
intervals of the voice. When therefore a person 
first undertakes to read the discourse of others, the 
conversational habit is not at once laid aside : and it 
is apt to cleave long afterwards to speech. 

The faults in the execution of the cadence are 
various : and if its total absence might be called a 
fault, I could cite an instance of a clergyman, whom 
I heard go through an address of fifteen minutes 
without once making a cadence ; no, not even at his 
final period. The audience were notified to sit 
down, by his Amen, not by the proper indication oi 
the close by his voice. 

But even those who have the abilitv to make a 



536 0F THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

cadence, are infected by the next fault to be men- 
tioned. 

I described ten forms of the cadence. This was 
done as a philosophical analysis ; to point out dis- 
tinctions which may be made by an accurate ear, 
and in reality executed by those who have flexi- 
bility of intonation. For the purposes of instructive 
rule we may particularize the Feeble, the Duad, 
the Triad and the Prepared cadences. These are 
quite sufficient for the ordinary purposes of reading ; 
and vocal skill can always effect an interchangeable 
variety of them, in the succession of periods. The 
next fault then consists in a repetition at every 
pause, of the same kind of cadence, and that gene- 
rally a full one. This fault is encreased by the 
common mode of punctuation, which often sets a 
period at places, where the voice should be only 
suspended by the phrase of the downward ditone. 

I have heard a player of high character use what 
we formerly called a false cadence : that is, a de- 
scent of the third by radical change, the second 
constituent of the Triad being altogether omitted. 
This false cadence is sometimes made on a wider 
discrete interval ; the voice suddenly falling a fifth 
or even an octave, if the pitch has been high enough 
to allow these descents. 

Some persons are in the habit of making the ca- 
dence in a low and almost inaudible pitch. I have 
imagined this proceeds from a want of that prospec- 
tive reach of perception in the ear, which enables 
a reader to hit the precise place for his cadence. 
One who has not this skill, may know the period is 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 537 

coming, and that therefore the voice must descend ■. 
but being ignorant at what point, in the fear of fall- 
ing precipitately upon the close, he begins too soon. 
A downward ditone is first made, and some in- 
stinct preventing him from adding the next tone 
below, by which the cadence would be completed 
before its time, he strikes a monotone and again 
tries a downward ditone. In this manner he descends 
till the cadence falls on the three final syllables. 
The process here described is not indeed continued 
through many words; most readers would in that 
case soon exhaust their pitch. Yet this does some- 
times happen : for the voice by this shelving course 
is at last brought down to a whisper. 

Of Faults in the Third. — The third is properly 
employed in the moderate forms of interrogation 
and in conditional phrases. Some readers however 
execute the whole current melody in the rise of 
this interval : the emphatic words in this case be- 
ing marked by some of the modes of stress on the 
third, or by a higher run to the fifth. There is a dis- 
agreeable sharpness in this melody. It wants force; 
for it abates by comparison the impressive character 
of the higher intervals when they are added to it. I 
have heard persons with this fault try to read Milton 
and Shakspeare, and always without success. The 
current of dignified utterance must always consist 
of the wave of the second on the long quantities of 
discourse. No simple upward concrete can effect 
it: though the rise of a wide interval may be oc- 
casionally employed for emphasis in the gravest 
drift of the diatonic melody. A speaker who 
3 z 



538 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

uses the third as his current concrete, feels the ne- 
cessity of avoiding a simple rise ; and therefore 
sometimes returns it downward into the form of 
the wave. This does not mend the effect, as we shall 
learn presently. 

Another fault in the third, even when the whole 
current is not made by that interval, lies in forming 
all the emphases with it. This likewise gives a sharp- 
ness to speech, together with a monotony ; for one 
of the causes of beauty in utterance consists in the 
variation of the kinds of emphasis : and we pointed 
out, in its proper place, the abundant means in the 
voice, for this variety. 

The substitution of the third for the second in 
melody is principally offensive from its monotony. 
And the reader may recollect it was said in the 
section on Drift, that these higher intervals will not 
bear continued repetition. 

Of Faults in the Fifth.— The interval of the fifth 
is sometimes made the current concrete of melody : 
the peculiar effect of the intonation being most 
conspicuous in the emphatic places. It is a less 
frequent fault than the last, and is more commonly 
heard in women. It has a palpable monotony, and 
a still greater sharpness than the third : the whole 
melody having the construction and effect of an in- 
terrogative sentence. 

A less remarkable degree of this fault is that of 
a diatonic melody in which all the emphases are 
made by the fifth. This too has its sharpness and 
monotony ; and I am sure the reader will be suffi- 
ciently guarded against this fault, by keeping in 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 539 

mind the ample resource of the voice for the produc- 
tion of emphasis. 

Those who thus misplace the third and fifth, are 
apt to carry them into the cadence ; such readers end 
many of their plain declarative sentences with the 
characteristic intonation of a question. 

I might point out a similar error of place in the 
Octave : but it is of rare occurrence, and to be ob- 
served only in the piercing treble of female voices. 
Some persons cannot ask a question in the subdued 
and dignified form of the third or fifth, but do it 
always in the keen or facetious intonation of the 
octave. 

Of Faults in the Downward Movement. — The 
faults mentioned throughout this section are found 
more or less among those who are called good read- 
ers. When instruction shall grow out of the philo- 
sophy of speech, instead of imitation, the defects of 
utterance, now so common as to require notice, will 
be confined, like the faults of grammar, to the unedu- 
cated part of the world. As far as I have observed, 
there are no very conspicuous errors from the 
abuse of the downward intervals. If the falling se- 
cond should disproportionate predominate in the 
current melody, it will give a graveness to the ut- 
terance which may happen to be misplaced. The 
wider intervals do not often occur as faults : since 
it requires some skill to use them in their empha- 
tic positiveness, and he who can thus execute them 
correctly, will not be likely to misapply them. 

Of Faults in the Discrete Movement. — Of the de- 
fects in the management of the radical change of the 



540 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS 

second which forms the diatonic melody, we have 
already spoken. Precipitate falls of the third, 
fifth, and octave sometimes occur in the cadence 
of very bad readers. Others again are unable to ef- 
fect those upward and downward radical transitions, 
by which accomplished readers produce some of 
the most striking features of emphasis. 

Of Faults in the Wave. — The reader must bear 
in mind that the wave of the second, both in its 
direct and inverted form, is dignified but plain in 
its character, and therefore admissible into the 
diatonic melody as a drift. But it is not so with the 
waves of higher intervals. They have their pro- 
per occasions as solitary emphasis ; whereas the 
continued repetition of them becomes to the ear of 
good taste a disgusting fault. The form of the wave 
commonly affected by the puling class of readers to 
which I allude, is that of the inverted-unequal, the 
voice descending through the second, and rising 
through the third or fifth. This fault is most remark- 
able in the reading of metrical composition ; and it 
is probable the bad habit with some, may have ari- 
sen from associations with Tune which is generally 
united with verse. Persons who read in this way 
give a set melody to their lines ; certain parts of 
each line, as far as the emphatic words will permit, 
having a prominent intonation of the wave. 

There is much of every form of the wave in con- 
versation : and the general spirit of daily dialogue 
often makes it appropriate there. But I have heard 
the colloquial twirl even exaggerated by a comic 
actress of some name. The effect in this case, 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 54} 

wanted that brilliant dignity which the actor of 
high comedy is bound to follow in the author : and 
exhibited a constant recurrence of identical sections 
in melody. 

Some actors are prone to the use of the double 
wave. They make it the emphasis of every feel- 
ing, not with the intention indeed, but certainly 
with the event, to denote that they themselves have 
none. It is an impressive element, and is therefore 
often thoughtlessly introduced to give prominent ef- 
fect and variety to melody. It has however, restric- 
tively, its proper duty and place : and it should be 
remembered that there is a sneering petulance in its 
character, totally inconsistent with dignity. 

There is nothing better calculated to show the 
importance of the plain ground of the diatonic me- 
lody in speech, than this abuse of the wave. It in- 
cludes the effects of faults in the third and fifth, 
and consequently gives to discourse the most florid 
and impressive character. But when such strik- 
ing intonation is set on every important syllable, 
how shall we mark emphatic words except by the 
utmost excesses in quality or time or force. 

Of Faults in the Melody of the Pause. — In the sec- 
tion on Pause, it was shown what phrases of melody 
were proper for connecting and for separating the 
ideas of discourse. Those who may hereafter look 
into this subject, will see the fitness of the allot- 
ment there made : and will moreover be struck 
with the violations of sense and variety so common- 
ly heard among readers : some of whom set a ris- 



542 0F THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

ing third or fifth at most of the sub-pauses, and even 
at the period. A want of nicety too, in varying the 
kinds of cadence according to the fulness of the 
close is a very general fault : for there is great 
clearness given to style, by that delicacy of per- 
ception which leads a reader to put the feeble ca- 
dence at doubtful periods, and the prepared ca- 
dence at the end of a paragraph or chapter. 

Of Faults in Diift. — The variety and true spirit 
of reading are effected by a delicate regard to the 
correspondence between sentiment and vocal ex- 
pression, in individual words ; and to the Drift or 
continuation of a given elemental character through 
one or more sentences : whereas a neglect of this 
adjustment, will, according to its degree, weaken 
the impression of utterance, or shock the ear and 
taste of the hearer. Some readers continue one 
style of voice through every change of thought and 
passion : others vary the character of the utterance 
without adapting it to the demands of sentiment. 

Under the last head, we spoke of the power of 
the prepared cadence to indicate the termination of 
a paragraph or subject. Now certain changes in 
the structure of melody, which were formerly de- 
scribed, may be employed to warn an audience of 
the beginning of a paragraph or subject. The defi- 
ciency of a speaker on this point is a flagrant fault. 

The object most worthy of remark in this place, 
is the sudden transition from one style of utterance 
to another without a corresponding change in the 
subject. I remember to have heard an actor set the 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 543 

house into a hum of laughter by making that an- 
swer of Jaffier to the conspirators — 

^ay — by Heaven I'll do this, 

in the curling quaintness of the wave. The senti- 
ments of Jaffier, the solemnity of the juncture, the 
purpose of his entrance among the conspirators, are 
all at variance with the levity of the sneer, convey- 
ed by this intonation. Severity of resolution, is 
Jaffier's sentiment ; and this calls for some of the 
energies of stress, and the positiveness of the down- 
ward emphasis. I have tried in vain to make a 
term to designate those outrageous transitions, some- 
times heard on the stage. They belong to the head 
of the faults of Drift : but we must speak of them 
as " a deed without a name." What I mean is those 
abrupt changes from high to low ; from a roar to a 
whisper ; from quick to slow ; harsh to soft ; from the 
diatonic melody to the chromatic 5 from the gravity 
of long quantity to the levity of sneer, the quick 
stress of anger and mirth, or to the rapid mutter- 
ings of a madman. 

There are two different defences may be set up 
for a particular mode of Elocution. The one, that 
it is a copy from nature : the other that it does artifi- 
cially best answer the ends of speech. I cannot de- 
rive an apology for such flagitious transitions, from 
either of these sources. I have seen persons under 
the highest excitement of passion, and changing 
from one degree and kind of feeling to another ; 
but I have never seen any thing like the Harlequin 
transformations of voice, which are sometimes ex~ 



544 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

hibited on the stage, except in a paroxysm of hys- 
teria. On the other hand, suppose the practice to 
be an artificial system, (to which I would make no 
objection provided it fulfilled all wise and fair ends) 
— what recommendation on the score of order can 
that plan boast, which annuls all the beauty and 
frugality of rule, which destroys by its anomaly 
and abruptness all the pleasures of anticipation, and 
takes from the fine arts, the delight in boundless 
association, which arises from the busy exercise of 
well-established knowledge. 

The truth is, that where this fault does not arise 
from ignorance, it is purposely assumed with the 
view to produce what the small vocabulary of dra- 
matic criticism, calls " Effect." The actor finding 
himself deficient in variety and in that complete 
finish of expression, which drowns scrutiny in ap- 
probation, tries to remedy his poverty by breaking 
through the even tenor of the part, with some rous- 
ing stimulus or unexpected collapse. We must 
however do some actors the justice to believe that 
they have too true an estimate both of nature and 
art, to approve of such things. But how shall we 
absolve them from the charge of submitting to what 
they know to be ill-judged applause 5 and of being 
" willing to deceive the people because they will 
be deceived" — the easy art and resource of weak- 
ness, and the wretched apology of knavery. It is 
the part of elevated intellect to undeceive the world 
even by unwelcome truths 5 to make all men at last 
bow down -, and to be the master, instead of the 
slave of opinion. 



OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 545 

We need not specify the faults which fall within 
the subject of grouping. Errors in the connexion 
or separation of ideas in discourse belong rather to 
the mind than to the voice. 

Of Monotony oj Voice. — This is an old term in 
elocution : but it is here used with a more extensive 
signification than formerly. It means, in general, the 
undue continuation of any function of the voice. 

The investigation of this subject may furnish 
some support to the doctrine of expression laid down 
in this essay. For since I have asserted that correct 
and varied speech is effected by a certain composi- 
tion of the vocal elements, it will afford no little 
countenance to this proposed system, if it be found 
that the transgression of its rules, as far as regards 
the limited use of these elements, is productive of 
the palling impression of monotony. 

One can scarcely point out an occasion, on which 
the simple rise of the second, or the diatonic wave 
has this effect : for according to our system these 
are properly the most frequent movements in dis- 
course. The employment of the second in place 
of other functions, may sometimes produce an error 
in expression, but we do not call it monotony. The 
chromatic melody, though a continuation of the im- 
pressive interval of the semitone, is not monoto- 
nous, if the sentiment is suited to its plaintiveness : 
but many of the other elements when spread over 
discourse offend by this fault. Thus a repeated suc- 
cession of the same phrases in the current melody ; 
the same kind of cadence, particularly if it fre- 
quently occurs ; the successive use of the down- 

4 A 



546 OF THE FAULTS OF READERS. 

ward second in melody ; a melody formed on the 
third or fifth ; a restriction of emphasis to the third 
or fifth or octave ; a constant use of the accent and 
emphasis of the radical stress ; the vanishing stress ; 
the tremor ; the downward wider intervals 5 too 
free a use of distant skips in the radical change, 
both in the current and in the cadence \ the higher 
waves ; the note of song and of recitative — may each 
become the basis of monotony. In short it may be 
worth repeating in this place, that all those elements 
which nature has allotted to the rare occasions of 
emphasis seem to be protected against abuse, by 
the occurrence of monotony whenever their pur- 
pose is perverted by an undue repetition. 

Of Ranting in Speech. — This fault consists in the 
excess of certain elements. These are loudness, 
violence in the radical and vanishing stresses •, and 
in general, an overdoing of the expression of any 
sentiment, when united with force. 

Of Affectation in Speech. — This consists simply 
in a misapplication of the function of the voice, what- 
ever may be the system assumed as the standard 
of purity and excellence in .the art. 

Of Mouthing in Speech. — This belongs properly 
to the head of the faults of articulation, or deviations 
from standard pronunciation ; of which it is not 
my intention to speak particularly. 

Mouthing consists in the improper emploj r ment 
of the lips in utterance. 

Some of the tonic elements, and one of the sub- 
tonics are made by the assistance of the lips. They 
are o-we, oo-ze, ou-r, and " m." When these 



conclusion. 547 

abound in speech it is apt to lead to this Omega- 
ism, if mouthing, may be so called, from the letter 
which usually exhibits it. All the other subtonics 
may be, to a degree, infected with this fault. It 
slightly infuses the sound of the o-we or oo-ze 
into their vocality : for the protrusion of the lips, 
gives something of this character even to a lingual 
element. Mouthing may be called a mode of af- 
fectation. 

I might here give a particular description of the 
voices of Childhood and of Age : for these may be 
looked upon as faults, when compared with the full- 
formed, vigorous and varied utterance of interme- 
diate periods. The analysis which has been given 
will enable an observant reader to discover their 
characteristics. He will find the voice of childhood 
to be high in pitch, monotonous in melody, defec- 
tive in cadence, the intonation often chromatic, and 
highly colored by the wider intervals and by the 
wave. He will find old Age to be slow, with fre- 
quent pauses, slight radical stress, and tremor. 

I have thus described most of the faults of speak- 
ers in their single state, under the individual ele- 
ments. They are compounded by bad speakers, 
into all possible numbers and forms. The per- 
mutations would defy every attempt towards a 
useful classification : I therefore leave the contem- 
plation of the subject as a task for the reader. 



Here I finish the history of the Speaking voice. 
It has been my design throughout this work to sub- 
ject nature to a prying examination ; to measure 



548 CONCLUSION. 

her by the simple but rigid rule of the senses *, and 
to unfold her mysteries with comprehensive ar- 
rangement and philosophic precision. How far 
these points have been accomplished the intelligent 
reader must determine, with that allowance for mi- 
nor errors which the historian of nature has a right 
to claim, and which the liberal critic will not re- 
fuse. 

Those to whom the subject of Elocution, in its 
higher meaning, is new, will receive this history 
without prejudice ; and though they may not have 
occasion to lay up its practical rules, will still ad- 
mire the beautiful economy of nature, in the struc- 
ture of speech. Those who have spent a life of la- 
bour by the little light which has as yet been set 
up in the art, and who are too old or proud or dull 
to take on a new mind, with the advancement of 
knowledge, will at least learn from this essay the 
deficiencies of the old schemes of analysis and 
instruction, even though they may not admit that 
these deficiencies are here supplied. If the de- 
velopment now offered, were the mere improve- 
ment of an art, persons of this last class might be 
able to discover traces of their former opinions, and 
thereby have reason for admitting it. But finding 
here a new creation, they may reject it altogether, 
because they cannot recognise the fulfilment of some 
fancied plan of a science, which they had named 
but never knew. 

However philosophy may admire the beauty of 
nature in the scheme of the human voice, it must 
be regarded as a curiosity only, if it does not lead 



conclusion. 549 

to some practical application. I have therefore join- 
ed with the physiological analysis, a consideration 
of the means for facilitating instruction and for im- 
proving the art. We have learned the plain dia- 
tonic sign of thought, and the more impressive 
voices of expression. We have seen how speech may 
be dignified without being dull, and plaintive with- 
out exhibiting the affectation of a whine : how it 
may be full in quality and graceful in its vanishing 
construction : how its measurable movements may 
be adjusted to the pauses of discourse : and how de- 
finitely all the modes of emphasis may be ascer- 
tained. 

If we were to draw an inference from the con- 
ceits and practice of mankind, we would believe that 
the modes of a good elocution are endless ; for every 
one with peculiar self-satisfaction thinks he reads 
well, and yet all read differently. There is how- 
ever but one mode of reading well : and I have en- 
deavoured upon the warrant of analysis, to lay down 
the plan of a system which may be hereafter adopt- 
ed and completed. The principles on the subject 
of intonation have been drawn partly from the 
best practice of the Stage ; partly from the almost 
infinite variety of common speech ; and partly from 
a consideration of the suitableness of the various 
fashions of Elocution, and a selection from them, 
which promises to be the most effective in operation 
and the most durably pleasing to a cultivated ear. 

Without some established principles in intonation, 
there can be none of that fellowship in opinion 
which so powerfully assists in the advancement of 






550 CONCLUSION. 

an art. For though nature would seem to have 
fixed certain sounds as symbols of thought, still the 
differences in practice tend to confound her ordi- 
nation and weaken her authority. If the subject of 
the human voice be thoroughly examined, and 
some system be established thereon, it will beget 
a similarity of opinion and practice, and conse- 
quently greater precision in the use of its signs, 
for the modes of intonation, like words, will have 
most force, when most common, and when not 
weakened by contradictory meanings. 

In collecting and framing the precepts of Elocu- 
tion, I have taken into view both the strength and 
the beauty of expression. The system represents 
corrected and dignified nature, under that form of 
severe simplicity, which is not at first alluring to 
him who is unaccustomed to look into the resources 
and effects of the arts. The art of reading, thus es- 
tablished, will be found to possess an excellence, 
which must grow into sure and irreversible favor, 
whenever it receives that studious attention which 
serves to raise the pursuits of the wise above 
those of the vulgar. It would be too trite to tell 
the whole story of the great painter, who with his 
mind full of fancies on the powers of Raffaelle, 
was disappointed at his first sight of the walls of 
the Vatican, and disconsolate after his last. 

The florid style of elocution, which consists in 
a melody formed upon other elements than those 
of the diatonic, is founded on that ignorance and 
that sway of imagination and passion which prevail 
with the child and the savage. The same temper 



conclusion. 551 

of taste which calls for the florid manner in speech 
demands a perpetual change in it ; and capricious 
alteration takes the place of enduring improvement. 
The system of plain melody and contrasted ex- 
pression for which I would plead, partakes of that 
simplicity which an advance in the arts always pro- 
duces. 

If this scheme of Elocution should on the grounds 
of propriety or taste, be objectionable, let another 
be formed by him -who is better qualified for the 
task. Only, let a system be formed. And whilst 
in other arts we can turn to the imagined forms 
of an " Apollo," a " Transfiguration" and a Doric 
facade, and to the humanly-associated compositions 
of the Oratorio and the Laudscape — let Elocution 
be able hereafter to bring forward, not only the 
names of Roscius, Garrick and Siddons, but let it 
lay up in the cabinet of the arts, a description of 
their w r orks, and a record of the principles upon 
which they were executed. In short, let the art of 
speaking well be invested with that corporate capa- 
city, by the preservative succession of which the 
influences of its highest masters shall never die. 

The true spirit of fellowship in the arts, and the 
bad temper of disagreement there in, turns so entirely 
on the degree of certainty in opinion and the means 
of proof in examining their works, that any one 
who has looked into the subject, would prefer an 
institute which almost abandons the line of na- 
ture, as a substitute for the varying and contradic- 
tory rules which the individuals of nature would 
constantly suggest. 



552 CONCLUSION. 

The scholar whose study lies among languages 
estimates those which have received their systema- 
tic form, from the arbitrary institutions of grammar 
and prosody, above those which spring naturally 
from the wants and passions of uncultivated society. 

Where shall we find the natural prototype of 
Heraldry, which makes the enthusiast, over his 
armorial ensigns, delight in the purely invented 
system of his tinctures and furs and charges, and 
watch their disposition by all the rules of blazonry. 

What Botany can designate that leaf and stem 
which forms the floral scroll, the symmetric lotus, 
the acanthus and the varied cup which constitute 
the beautiful and endless combination of ornament 
in Ideal Foliage. To the cultivated eye, the chosen 
productions of the field and garden are meagre or 
ungraceful, beside the rich windings and leafing and 
tracery on the frieze of the Frontispiece of Nero. 

These three subjects are all the systematic cre- 
ations of art 5 and it would seem that objects of in- 
tellectual as well as of physical taste are more at- 
tractive, in proportion as they are less natural, and 
are founded on acquired appetite and approbation. 

Without some system of principles, either natural 
or conventional, I am at a loss to know on what cri- 
ticism in Elocution is to be founded. Its rules have 
too frequently been drawn from the very works 
which are to be the subject of investigation. Gar- 
rick is to be tried; and by the common law, for there 
is no statute here, the former case of Garrick is the 
rule of judgment. Happy for an art, when such au- 
thority can be cited ! But what is to be said when 



CONCLUSION. 



553 



presumption pushes itself into the front ranks of 
elocution, and thoughtless friends undertake to 
support it? The fraud must go on, till presump- 
tion quarrels, as often happens, with its own friends 
or with itself, and thus dissolves the spell of its 
merits. 

The preceding analysis contains elements of 
criticism, and makes some effort towards their ap- 
plication. Pronunciation, pause and emphasis are 
the only points of elocution which critics have ever 
brought to the precision of particulars : and on 
these only have they been able to show any thing 
like definite censure or applause. By turning our 
attention, to the details of intonation we have yet to 
learn how far emphasis depends upon it : and when 
a perception of the multiplied functions of speech 
is awakened by analysis and nomenclature, we 
must first perceive how the perfection of emphasis, 
in the old acceptation of the term, may be marred 
by palpable defects in the delicate schemes of me- 
lody and stress and intonated expression . 

Look at a formal review of dramatic perform- 
ance ; you will find in it, words enough, and very 
good grammar. You cannot however avoid observ- 
ing a strong disposition on the part of the writer, 
to say something, when he has nothing to say : 
hence after exhausting a small vocabulary of un- 
meaning or most general terms, sometimes misap- 
plied and always mawkish to a delicate taste, such 
as " chasteness," " by-play/' " undertone/' " fresh- 
ness," " harmony/' " effect" and " keeping/'— I 
say, after hurrying over these indefinites, the writer 

4 B 



554 CONCLUSION. 

soon makes his way to surer ground ; in noting the 
numbers and dress of the audience ; the comfort of 
the seats in the orchestra ; the bad taste of the stage 
side doors, with thanks to the manager, or censure, 
for the good or bad effect of recent alterations in the 
shape or the rules of the house ; the growing habit 
of slaming doors ; the noise of iron-shod boots : 
copious extracts from some of Shakspeare's best- 
known scenes, and a reprint of one of Cumberland's 
criticisms. 

The preceding essay furnishes principles and 
definite terms by which the specific merits and 
defects of an actor or a speaker may be distinctly 
represented ; by which the indescribable mysteries 
of speech, as they are called, may be told to other 
ages than those that heard them ; by which arrogance 
and imposture in this art, may be wrested from 
their hold on the better part of mankind, and their 
rule left undisturbed over that great majority which 
is always ready to support the small frauds of life, 
and which, in its way, does receive a sort of plea- 
sure from the changing pictures of its credulity. 

The same acute and comprehensive observation 
which makes an interpreter of nature makes a pro- 
phet in the arts. He can tell us, that in the future 
history of elocution, as it now is with song, the mas- 
ters of its practice will always be masters of the 
science : that they will, with the confident aim of 
principles, address themselves to the elect of intel- 
ligence and taste, by whom their merits will be 
rated and their authority fixed. And if in making 
a fame or fortune by their voice, they should receive 



conclusion. 555 

any assistance from this essay, I shall be content- 
ed to think it is some contribution to the multiplied 
means, by which the works of art are made to be 
eternally delightful to mankind. 

Finally, I would recommend this analysis, and 
the practical inferences which have been drawn 
from it, to those who declare with contra-distin- 
guishing ascription, that elocution cannot be taught, 
but must be the work of genius alone. Such per- 
sons look upon the powers of the mind as a kind of 
sleight : the ways and means of which are unknown 
and immeasurable. But genius, as far as it appears 
from its works, is only an aptitude for that deep, 
wide and exclusive attention which perceives and 
accomplishes more than is done without it ; and 
therefore is not altogether removed beyond the 
reach of rules : though in its course of instruction, 
genius is oftenest the pupil of itself. 

Let those who are deluded by this mystic notion 
of genius, turn their eyes from impostors who can- 
not define an attribute which they do not compre- 
hend ; let them look to the great Sachems of man- 
kind, and learn from the real and honest possessors 
of it, how much of its manner may be described. 
They will tell us that genius, in its high meaning, 
is always enthusiastic : always characterized by pas- 
sionate perseverance ; by the love of an object 
in its means as well as its end ; by that unshaken 
confidence in its own powers, which converts the 
evils of discouragement into the benefits of success ; 
which cares not to be alone, and is too much ab- 
sorbed in its own truths to be disturbed by the 






5qQ CONCLUSION. 

opinions of others : with a disentangling spirit, to 
see things as they might be ; and an economy of 
purpose, to execute them as they ought to be, — 
soaring above that musty policy which, in its " fine 
tact of the expedient," would with a world-serving 
quietude preserve them always as they are : having 
the power to accomplish great and useful works, 
only because it wastes no time or small and selfish 
ones ; and passing a life of warfare in detecting the 
impostures and follies of its own age, that the next, 
like the consulted Oracle of Delphi, may pronounce 
it the chief in wisdom and in virtue. 



BRIEF ANALYSIS 



or 



SONG AND RECITATIVE 



When the phenomena of Speech, Song and Re- 
citative are regarded independently of verbal dis- 
tinctions, they display a nearer resemblance than is 
discoverable by a general view of their effects and 
names. It is the duty of philosophy to look into 
the real existences of things ; to break down many 
of those lines of separation which the poor conve- 
niences of classification have established ; to exhibit, 
as far as is available with finite resources, that clear 
and comprehensive picture of nature which is sur- 
veyed, at once and always, by the infinite discern- 
ment of her author himself. 

To the common ear, speech and song are totally 
different. Let us examine their relationships by an 
analytic comparison of their several constituents. 

In taking up this subject I have no new function 
to represent. Song and Recitative are only certain 
combinations of the five accidents of sound which 
were minutely described in the preceding part 



558 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

of this volume. It is my design to point out the 
method of these combinations ; in order to complete 
the outline of vocal science, by showing the simi- 
larity between the phenomena of its three leading 
divisions. 

The art of vocal music has been seriously culti- 
vated by its professors : and though, as far as I know, 
they have never gone into its deeper analysis, they 
have accumulated a mass of observation, and have 
framed a body of principles for governing the great 
and brilliant results of their practical execution. 
The representation of the subject in any thing like 
a practical view is beyond my design and ability. 
The means of instruction in all the Fine arts, but 
especially in that of song, are too limited in this 
country, both as regards the higher discussions of 
taste and the eminent examples of executive skill, 
to furnish any proposed record, in that order and 
with that clearness and strength which always 
characterize a direct transcript from nature. It 
becomes the American, in honestly knowing him- 
self on these matters, to touch those points only, 
which the physiology of his own voice may furnish, 
and, in this day at least, to leave the full description 
of all that song can do, to the ample opportunities 
of European experience and education. I propose 
to give only a general physiological account of the 
functions of song ; leaving it to those whom it may 
professionally concern to make any practical ap- 
plication of the principles here developed, or to 
pass them by as a part of natural history that is 
more curious than useful. 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 559 

As song consists in certain combinations of the 
five accidents which were made the ground of ar- 
rangement in speech, I shall give the proposed an- 
alysis under the same general heads : and first, 

Of the Pitch of Song. — The movement of song 
has every direction and extent which was ascribed 
to speech 5 and one form which is peculiar to its 
intonation. 

In illustrating the nature of the equable concrete 
I described the radical and vanish of song. When 
given as a single unempassioned sound, for ex- 
emplification, it consists of a rapid concrete-rise 
through the interval of a tone, and a prolongation 
on one line of pitch at the summit of that tone. If 
the reader will allow me to designate the parts 
thus divided, by calling the rapid concrete-rise the 
Arsis, and the level line the Note, it will contri- 
bute to the brevity and perspicuity of our future 
description. 

When we rise by a slow and easy effort through 
the seven places of the musical scale, the move- 
ment of the voice is made according to the follow- 
ing notation of time and pitch : in which I suppose 
the succession to be on the staff of the bass-cliff. 



f=^ 



^^^ 



i 3 ^ 



The time of the arsis is here represented by a 



5(J0 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

semiquaver, and that of the note by a semibreve, 
two comparative terms in music which hold the 
proportion of one to sixteen. 

There may be both a plain and a more complex 
structure of song. The form of the above scale is 
the plainest, and is perhaps never used as a running 
melody except in the rude attempts of a child. 
When it is employed throughout a current, and I 
have so heard it, it is like the effect of a musical in- 
strument, and one badly played too. 

As in the case before us, the successions of pitch 
are made by a transition either to proximate or re- 
mote degrees, and without the continuous move- 
ment from one degree to another, it may be called 
Discrete Song. 

In this kind of melody, the length of the note, 
when compared with the arsis, is different, accord- 
ing to the time of the air or the syllable to which 
it is sung. Its longest quantity may exceed the pro- 
portion represented in the above scale. Its short- 
est, changes the movement to an equable concrete, 
the voice becoming altogether arsis by the oblite- 
ration of the note. Song constructed by the rule of 
this discrete progression, and without assistance 
from the modes of stress, is destitute of all power 
to please the ear and to excite a feeling. 

The foregoing is the most simple form of pitch. 
The next is that of an arsis of greater extent than a 
tone. In this way several different representations 
of the scale might be given, consisting respectively 
of the rapid rise of a third with its note ; of a fourth, 
fifth, and all other practicable intervals. Let the 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 561 

reader take the above scale as a model, and draw 
for himself a similar rising progression with the 
arsis of a third, then another of the fourth, and so 
on through the whole compass of the voice *, — this 
will give him a visible illustration of the modifica- 
tion of the scale by the variation of the arsis. 

When an air employs this mode of intonation, it 
adds something to the character of the plain and 
discrete movement last described, and is one re- 
move from the formal effect of the notes of an in- 
strument. For in a skipping melody of song the 
various degrees, whatever may be their distances, 
can all be united by means of these different ranges 
of the arsis. Let us call this mode of intonation 
Concrete Song. 

I here exhibit a notation of the scale of eight 
notes with the arsis in its different intervals, from 
a second to a ninth. 






** 



?¥¥¥^ 




In the preceding description I have said nothing 
of the descending progress of melody, since I have 
imagined it to be made with the same kind of voice 
as the ascent, that is by taking the arsis first. But 
there are two other modes of movement in a down- 
ward direction employed in song. 

The first is formed bv inverting the foregoing 
4 c 



562 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

scales. In this manner the concrete will be repre- 
sented as first in the order of progression, but instead 
of rising it will descend to the note. Let us call this 
Downward concrete of song, the Thesis. — It is 
scarcely necessary to say of this function that it is 
performed through as many intervals as the Arsis. 
The second mode of descent is made by taking 
the note first and subsequently falling with the the- 
sis, as shown in the foregoing scales, by considering 
them as symbols of a downward course. Both 
these modes of the Thesis are exhibited in the fol- 
lowing scheme. 

Second form of the Thesis. First form of the Thesis. 



g^gfgjg 



Such then are the modes of the upward and 
downward concrete movement of song : and what 
was remarked concerning the length of the note, 
in the scale of the second, may be said of all the 
others with their different intervals of the Arsis 
and Thesis — that the proportion between the note 
and the concrete so varies that the former some- 
times disappears altogether, and the movement, be- 
comes like the equable concrete of the rising and 
falling intervals of speech. 

Let us suppose this last form of the arsis and 
thesis, without the appendage of the note, to be 
united in one continuous movement. This produ- 



SONG AND RECITATIVE, 5(53 

ees in song the element called the wave : and inas- 
much as we have an arsis and thesis of every inter- 
val, so these may be combined into every form of 
the wave which was described in speech. 

The melody of song, as far as we have now de- 
scribed it, consists of a discrete progression similar 
to that of a flute, with the arsis of a second prece- 
ding its note. And it further embraces wider con- 
crete movements, both in an upward and a down- 
ward direction, and in the form of the wave min- 
gled with the linear prolongation of the note. 

But these are not all the functions of pitch. Song 
likewise employs the Tremulous movement. It is 
here constructed as in speech ; and is applied to 
the level line or note, the rise, the fall and the 
wave. 

This is the proper place to consider the subject 
of articulation in song, since it is the management 
of pitch which secures the distinctness of this func- 
tion. 

I showed that one of the requisites for accurate 
pronunciation in speech, is the equal apportionment 
of the concrete to the literal elements. The audi- 
bility of the words in song depends in part upon 
the same principle : for the peculiar nature of the 
level note of pitch does not alter the mode of syl- 
labication. The correct articulation of song how- 
ever requires a further attention to the accentuation 
of words, and to their syllabic quantity. But the ad- 
justment of these matters lies with the composer 
and the poet. 



564 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OP 

Writers on vocal science have extensively treat- 
ed this subject : and the same preceptive page 
which enjoins its importance, directs that the vow- 
els should principally compose the strain of utter- 
ance. The vowel or tonic sounds have clearly the 
purest quality for song : and it is certain that a 
syllable is known only through the perception of 
its proper accent, and the allotted time of each 
of its elements. I have no more to say on this point 
than that the purposes in these cases seem to be at 
variance. It is the vocalist's duty to reconcile them, 
by making distinct articulation agreeable. 

These are the general functions of song as re- 
gards Pitch. The manner of using them, and their 
junction with other accidents will be described 
hereafter.* 

* Upon a review of the analysis of the intonation of speech and 
song, it seemed to me that the effect of the discrete scale of 
the latter might be attained on some musical instruments. The 
publication of this essay rather before the contemplated period 
prevented me from testing the practicability of some imagined 
contrivances for this purpose. 

I had designed to connect a square organ-pipe with its finger- 
key by means of compound levers, so that the same touch which 
raises the wind-valve should, at a succeeding moment, raise a 
shutter on a side of the pipe at its open end ; the object of this 
shutter being to cover an oblong aperture, reaching from the 
very end of the pipe, so far towards its sounding-lips, as to 
raise the pitch a tone or second when the shutter should be re- 
moved. 

Now this shutter having its centre of motion towards the 
sounding-lips, was to overlap the edges of the oblong vent: but 
the plug which was to shut into the vent, with a rebate, was to 
be wedge-shaped, with its sharp angle towards the end of the 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 555 

Of the Time of Song. — I consider this accident 
only in relation to the individual functions, and not 
to the general construction of melody, and its 
rhythmus. 

pipe; so that as the shutter should be raised and consequently 
the wedge, as the under part of it, the vent would be gradually 
opened, and the intonation be thus made to ascend with a concrete 
movement. When the shutter should be entirely opened, the 
long note then produced, immediately following the concrete, 
might give the instrumental execution of the voice of song. 

In the transitions of melody with such a contrivance, it would 
be necessary that the valve in the wind-chest should be made 
to close before the shutter, otherwise the gradual descent of it, 
would make a falling concrete or thesis, on every note. 

I have thus suggested the principle on which an experiment 
may be tried by those who have ability, time and convenience 
for such works : and there are other ways which persons of me- 
chanical cleverness may contrive, for producing the concrete 
movement on a sounding-pipe either of metal or wood. 

I am not altogether convinced that this mode of mechanism 
might not be connected with the vox-humana stop of an Organ, 
or even the ventages of a bassoon. If this is practicable, it may 
give to instruments a little more of the character of the singing 
voice than they at present possess. 

I cannot say how much further the principle might be applied 
f6r adding the wider ranges of the concrete, by a vent of great- 
er dimensions in the pipe. The mechanism even for the Second 
would not be simple, and the management of more than one 
concrete-key, if I may so call it, might he beyond the dexterity 
of the player. What could be done on barrel-organs, machin- 
ists can best tell. 

Automaton Figures have been made to speak, as it is called ; 
but it is in a protracted note which produces song. Would not the 
imitation of speech be nearer, if the sound was, by its instrumen- 
tal cause, formed into the equable concrete ? 

On the whole, I shall be sorry if any one should lose his la- 



5(j5 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

Time is used in every degree of duration, on the 
note, on the arsis and thesis, and on the wave. When 
it is so short on these, as to exclude the note, the 
effect, as far as regards mere individual acts of into- 
nation, does not differ from that of speech. 

Of the Quality of Voice in Song. — The kind of 
sound is the same in song as in speech. But since 
the time of the former is generally longer and con- 
sists of the protracted vocality of the tonics, it ren- 
ders the quality more conspicuous, and subjects it 
to more rigorous scrutiny. There are harsh, full, 
slender and nasal voices, and that which is called in 
the language of the schools, Pure tone. This sub- 
ject is however so well known in the practical dis- 
criminations of singers, that it needs no further con- 
sideration here. 

There is a curious subject of physiological in- 
quiry, connected equally with song and speech, 
but which I have reserved for this place. 

It is known that with a few trials, all the tonic 
and most of the other elements may be made indivi- 
dually by the act of Inspiration. The quality is in- 
deed strangely altered from the customary mode 
of the speaker, but the characteristic sound is com- 
plete. It would seem then that the vocal functions 
are equally practicable both in the ebb and the 

bour by a vain working at this problem. It is not the odd ends ol 
time that ever did any thing well: and if the schemer should be 
disposed to devote one useful day to the hazards of mechanical 
ingenuity, in such matters as I have here proposed, let him 
take, at the same time from me, the words of caution. 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 567 

flow of respiration : but for some wise purpose, the 
former has been universally appointed to carry out 
the continued current of speech. Now the reason 
why inspiration admits only of a single word, or 
at most three or four, is the same which creates the 
difficulty with infants, upon their first essays in ex- 
pired speech. We have not the Holding breath, as 
I presumed to call it, and therefore the act of inspi- 
ration immediately fills the lungs, reversely as the 
Exhausting breath drains them, and thus cuts off 
the course of speech. 

The question I here put is, — whether by a prac- 
tice as long and assiduous as that which gives the 
command over the time of expiration, the same 
holding breath might not be attained in inspiration ; 
and, should the quality of this entering voice, if I 
may so call it, be improvable, whether it might 
not be employed in the purposes of singing, to aid 
in sustaining the voice indefinitely ; and for ensur- 
ing a continuous intonation in the higher intrica- 
cies of execution. It is certain that this power has 
been attained in whistling, both as regards the quali- 
ty of shrilnessand the accuracy of tune : and though 
in this case the reach and facility of the holding 
breath of expiration, far surpasses that of inspiration, 
still, the pauses for inhaling may be rendered al- 
most imperceptible, through the controlling pow- 
er that does exist. 

Of Force of voice in Song. — This accident has 
reference either to the general drift of the voice, 
or to its individual movements. I shall consider 
it only in the latter relation 



568 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

All the .modes of stress formerly ascribed to 
speech are found in song. This is true not only as 
regards the equable concrete which I said is some- 
times used in the short impulses of the singing 
voice : but the radical, the median and the vanish- 
ing forms of force are applied on the proper arsis 
and thesis when connected with a note, upon the 
long note itself, and upon every course and extent 
of the wave. 

The full and abrupt radical being always pre- 
ceded by an occlusion, it may have a place at the 
outset of the arsis, or the thesis, or of the note of 
Recitative when it is occasionally found in song, or 
at the opening of the note which is represented in 
the scheme of the second form of the thesis. That 
note which is continuous with the rising or falling 
concrete cannot receive this mode of force. 

The greater quantity which may be allotted to 
the upward and the downward concrete, and the 
note of song, beyond what is allowable in speech, 
gives rise to a modification of the median stress or 
swell which does not belong to the syllabic concrete 
of discourse : for two or three of these swells may 
be set on the same note ; that is, the force may di- 
minish and revive alternately. The median stress 
may also in a protracted quantity exhibit a struc- 
ture resembling the radical and the vanish, by sud- 
denly enlarging and gradually diminishing, and by 
the reverse. 

The vanishing stress is principally set on the 
equable concrete, which makes the short syllabic 
intonation of comic songs. 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 569 

But the most striking function of force consists in 
the use of the compound stress. 

I have just shown that the voice passes through 
every interval of the scale, both in the arsis and 
thesis, and their union in the wave. This is done 
by a gliding movement, similar to the proper con- 
crete of speech. But the change may be made in 
another manner, by a rapid transition, in which the 
proximate places of the scale are distinctly marked. 
This, in the language of the school, is called " run- 
ning thegammut"or " running divisions". It isone of 
the most difficult executions of the art, and is never 
done with precision, speed, and smoothness, except 
by persons of the highest skill. The description of 
this process will show the nature of the Trill or 
Shake, for this, and the movement called a Division, 
are but varied applications of the same physiolo- 
gical function. 

The shake is a rapid iteration of two impulses of 
sound at the distance of a tone or semitone : or in 
other words, it is an alternation of proximate de- 
grees on the diatonic scale. 1 have shown that eve- 
ry vocal effort consists of a radical and vanish ; con- 
sequently when two successive impulses occur on 
the same or on different degrees of pitch each must 
exhibit these essential portions of the concrete ; but 
as the radical is the abrupt opening of the voice 
after an occlusion there must be a pause of a mo- 
ment at least between these two impulses or con- 
cretes. 

The shake being a rapid iteration of sounds, 
without a perceptible interruption, cannot be made 

1 D 



570 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

upon a series of impulses, each of which has its ra* 
dical and vanish : for if the reader will try to exe- 
cute a trill on the diphthong ale, he will find he 
cannot be sufficiently rapid when he makes the first 
sound of a-le the beginning of the several succes- 
sive impulses. 

The only mode in which this rapid alternation 
can be effected, is by the compound stress. For 
should the top of the concrete be enforced to an 
equality with the radical portion, two impressive 
sounds at the distance of a tone or semitone will be 
produced ; there will be a smooth transition from 
one to the other 5 and after each of the vanishing con- 
stituents of the shake, the radical will be ready to 
take on its function, and thus to attain that velocity 
which is impracticable when the impression is 
made by the stress of successive radicals alone. If 
the reader will perform a trill on the element ale 
he will perceive an iteration of the radical " a" and 
the vanish " e" of this diphthongal tonic. 

Thus the shake is only a rapid execution of the 
compound stress of speech, upon a continued phrase 
of the monotone : and it is the manner in which the 
two stresses are joined by the concrete, that produ- 
ces the smoothness or " liquidity," as it is called, of 
this vocal ornament. 

As the compound stress was shown to be practi- 
cable on every interval of speech, so a shake in 
song might be composed of a rapid iteration of the 
compound stress, between other points of the scale : 
and indeed such movements are sometimes heard 
in the tricks of the Florid Song ; but they are not 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 571 

technically classed with the trill, for this is restrict- 
ed to the order of proximate degrees. 

Let us now suppose the singer to pass upward 
or downward through the eight notes of the gam- 
mut, in the most rapid manner. All that was said 
of the alternate impulses in the shake, is true of this 
case : for when each of the eight points of the scale 
is marked by a proper radical, the same momenta- 
ry delay of the occlusion must take place. Thus 
let the reader pass over several degrees, by giving 
the radical of the diphthong a-le on each point, 
and he will find it impossible to run through the 
scale with rapidity. But when he utters the two 
constituents of the diphthong alternately, the " a" 
and " e" will be heard in quick transition through its 
proximate places. 

Thus it appears that the Divisions of song are 
only the compound stress of the concrete, or an al- 
ternate radical and vanish, in the rising or falling 
succession of the scale. 

There are various modes in which these divisions 
may be run ; for the whole octave may be passed 
through in one continued chain of upward or down- 
ward movement ; or the progress may be less ex- 
tensive ; or it may be made of groups of two or three 
or four impulses with a pause between the aggre- 
gates. In short, the compass may be traversed in 
numberless ways by the tune and time and mode 
of succession of this function. Sometimes a division 
is made by the proximate step of a semitone : but 
whatever the movements may be they are all per- 
formed on the principle of the compound stress. 



572 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

I asked myself in the course of this investigation, 
and I dare say the reader will make the inquiry — 
how it happens that the mode of execution by the 
compound stress avoids the difficulty of that occlu- 
sion which prevents a rapid shake from being 
formed by successive radicals. I am not able to an- 
swer this question : and can only offer the following 
conjectures, which I beg the reader to take as such, 
without classing them with that certainty of obser- 
vation which has been the rule of philosophy in this 
work. 

It is possible that the organic cause of intonation 
is so constituted that the radical must necessarily 
be followed by the vanish, before the structure can 
assume the position for another radical. If then a 
stress, equal to that of the radical, can be made on 
the vanish, the purpose of the shake is gained with- 
out incurring a loss of time by the natural vanish : 
and the organs will be ready to take on an occlu- 
sion for a new radical at the moment of the expira- 
tion of the vanishing stress. 

We may suppose the shake to be made in another 
way, — by the voice traversing in a Continued wave 
between the extremes of a tone, and by a sudden 
swell of force at those extremes. 

I need scarcely tell the reader that the proper 
trill is not made like the iterated Tittles of the tre- 
mulous scale. 

Of the Modes of Melody in Song. — Having de- 
scribed the forms of pitch, time and stress, we may 
now take a general view of their combinations. 

The structure of melody exhibits every variety 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 573 

in the number of its constituents, and in their inter- 
changeable union, from the use of the simple arsis 
and note, which we called the Discrete song, to 
that utmost employment of the concrete pitch, and 
the compound stress which constitutes the " airs of 
agility'' or " florid execution. " I did indeed make 
two distinctions founded on these modes of move- 
ment; but this was done only to mark the extremes 
of a varied process, since song is scarcely ever heard 
in the rigidly discrete form ; and when once the 
concrete movement is admitted, no definite line of 
separation can be drawn between its simple inflec- 
tions and its more complicated structure. 

In general terms then, and without pretending 
to describe the confines of each, I would call the 
Discrete melody that which moves by proximate 
degrees and by skips, in the simple form which is 
represented by the first scale of the eight notes ; 
and showing occasionally, because it can scarcely 
be avoided, a concrete junction of some of the wider 
intervals by the arsis and thesis. This is the mode 
of song used by the Church when the choir is 
conducted by the congregation. It is suited to the 
general ability of the whole, and resembles the 
mere instrumental effect of the organ which ac- 
companies it. 

I would call the Concrete melody, that disposition 
of the note, together with its varied connexion with 
the arsis and thesis and the compound stress, which 
constitutes within due bounds of combination, the 
most expressive powers of song, and in its higher 



574 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

conditions, the extraordinary but unmeaning flights 
of the most elaborate composition. 

Of the Expression of Song. — Expression in song 
is the power of exciting certain intense feelings by 
means of the pitch, time, force, quality and abrupt- 
ness of sound. 

It appears from this definition that the materials 
of expression in song are the same as those of 
speech : though some difference will be found in 
the specialties of the respective employment of 
them. The Italians, who have taught us almost 
every thing in music, have divided their song ac- 
cording to the style of its execution; the places in 
which it is displayed ; and the sentiments itexpresses, 
I am only hinting at an arrangement upon the points 
of its rudimental functions. 

In a general view of the subject of expression, 
we find that the dignity of Song is produced by the 
same fulness in quality, length of time, and gra- 
vity in pitch which gives an elevated and solemn 
character to reading. There can be no grandeur 
in that melody which employs the reverse of these 
conditions. 

The gay efforts of song, on the contrary, like the 
sprightly method of discourse, are made by a 
sharper quality; a quicker time; a higher course 
of pitch, and a greater variety in its successions. 
The Aria Buffa or the Comic Song generally con- 
sists of such short quantities that most of its syllabic 
impulses are made in the true equable concrete of 
speech. The only reason why in some cases we 
know it to be song, is because the concrete and the 



SONG AND RECITATIVE 



575 



radical pitch consist of wider intervals than belong 
to the current of speech. 

The plaintive effect of the semitone, and the mi- 
nor third, which is only a peculiar position of the 
semitone, is similar to the chromatic character of 
spoken melody. Perhaps we ought to consider the 
expression of the cadence as identical in these two 
uses of the voice ; since the return to the Key-note, 
which is constantly occurring in song, does, like 
the intonation at the periods of discourse, produce 
the agreeable feeling of repose and satisfaction. 

Let us take another view of this subject; and 
speak of the different kinds of melody. 

The Discrete song is not without expression, 
though it falls short of the kind which arises from 
a judicious use of the higher elements. Its sources 
lie in quality, tune, time and stress. 

There is something in the mere sound of a pro 
longed note, which may give a peculiar character 
to song. Fulness produces solemnity; smoothness 
excites the idea of beauty; and in the lighter efforts 
of the comic song, the distorted variations of quality 
give rise to a sense of the gay or ridiculous. As 
regards quality, the principles of expression are 
similar in speech and song: but perhaps the kind 
of voice is more palpable in the latter. 

The expression of Tune consists in the transition 
through certain intervals. The discrete melody 
can therefore display the plaintivenessof the semi- 
tone and the minor third, and the more energetic 
effect of the other intervals of the scale. 

The plain song may, by its Time, be either grave 



576 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

or gay. It appears that song is more agreeable 
than the short syllabic impulses of speech, though 
they may each have the same order of pitch. I 
am disposed to think this arises from an association 
of the notes of song with the effects of long quantity 
in speech : for this is always the sign of some strong 
emotion. 

The radical and the median stress are applicable 
to the protracted note of the discrete melody : but 
it is the varied mode of the swell in the latter which 
constitutes the principal means of expression. 

Some of the more moderate forms of the wave 
may be admitted into what I have called, without 
assigning a very definite boundary of its nature, 
the discrete song. 

By an inference from some very general descrip- 
tions and some known particulars of the Greek 
song, it is probable that its melody was of this dis- 
crete class; enriched with all the forms of expres- 
sion which are admissible into its structure: and 
the strict rules which seem to have governed the 
connexion between syllabic quantity and intona- 
tion, might lead us to suppose, that the very method 
of speech may have formed the leading powers of 
their simple but highly expressive melody * 

* I once contemplated subjoining to this essay, a discussion 
of the subject of Greek Accent. But I hope I have now suffi- 
ciently displayed the emptiness of its pretensions, by the full 
light of modern analysis. The proceeds of national reputation, 
like that of individuals, may serve the purpose of those who 
blow it. One can however see about him every day, enough of 
the boast of empires and of men, to make him scrutinize the 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 577 

The character of the Concrete song appears in 
various degrees, from the limits of the style last 
described, to that intricate composition of the vo- 
cal elements which defeats their purposes by an 
annihilation of all meaning and sentiment. 

The expression of this melody consists of the 

rolls of fame which were blazoned by the same genus of credu- 
lity, two thousand years ago. 

I know all the stories about barbarian embassadors being: de- 
lighted with the mere music of a language which they did not 
understand: and of that universal acuteness and " proud judg- 
ment of the ear" which made the Athenian herb-women and 
porters speak with all the purity of the Academy. But I must 
have other proof than the report of Greek historians; and I 
must find them writing with more fulness and precision, on a 
subject they understood so well, before 1 can believe that in this 
matter they were at all superior to ourselves. 

If I wished to believe in the vocal perfection of the Greeks I 
should be a little ashamed of that authority for it, which would 
seem to be the least questionable. Since their Roman eulogists 
do not display better system or definition in their elocution; 
and with the same pen that deals out the extravagancies of 
praise, they gravely give us the silly story of one of their own 
famous orators having occasion for a Pitch-pipe, to enable him 
to recognise his own voice, and to govern his melody, through 
the discriminations of a slave who now and then blew a little 
horn at his elbow . 

If I should be obliged to hold an opinion upon the subject of 
ancient accent, the fixed appropriation of its acute, grave and 
circumflex sign to syllables, being utterly inconsistent with a 
proper or elegant system of intonation, would induce me to be- 
lieve that the Greeksand Romans did always mean stress by their 
idea of the accentual function, but that they had connected 
with it a crude theory of pitch, formed perhaps out of some frag- 
ments of Egyptian science, which they themselves did not tho- 
roughly understand. 
4 E 



578 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

means enumerated in the account of the discrete : 
but they have here a much wider range. The fur- 
ther employment of the radical and median force 
on the arsis and thesis, as well as on the wave, 
adds a brilliant variety to the effect. We have in 
the Bravuras and Volatas of this kind of song, all 
the extraordinary coloring of the compound stress, 
in the production of the shake, and the almost in- 
finite forms that Divisions assume in their play 
with time and tune. It likewise commands those 
powers of expression which lie in the Tremulous 
scale, both in the plaintiveness of the semitone and 
in the laughing movement of the wider intervals. 
As song employs the elements of speech in its 
composition, one would suppose that certain move- 
ments must have in each case an identical expres- 
sion. But it is not always so. I have enumerated 
some functions that represent the same sentiments 
in both. There are, however, many forms of into- 
nation which lose their meaning and force when 
transferred to song. In treating of the vocal signs 
of the passions, we learned that their design is not 
only modified by the descriptive agency of words, 
but in some instances is purely dependent upon it 
I endeavoured to illustrate this by reference to the 
voices of birds: but song affords a more satisfactory 
proof. For since its more elaborate structure does 
employ all the forms of concrete and radical pitch, 
and the wave, we should be constantly impressed, 
in the changes of its melody, with the signs of in- 
terrogation, surprise, positiveness, sneer, contempt, 
and raillery: whereas the song which makes the 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 579 

freest use of these symbols never excites the above 
named sentiments, except they are joined with 
language. 

Song is, nevertheless, powerfully expressive, and 
it is so by the use of these very concretes and 
quantities and waves and abrupt and swelling 
stresses, which give the sentimental meaning to 
speech. Any person who is in the habit of enjoy- 
ing the display of song, will say that the emotions 
created by it are so far indefinite, that he is not 
able to refer them to any other source than that of 
general association, nor to reduce the signs of ex- 
pression to such classes as have long been per- 
ceived in speech, though they have never been 
formally named. 

Upon this subject, I would ask two questions. — 
Has song a system of expression properly its own, 
and does our indefinite perception of its points, 
arise from this system never having been analyzed 
and rendered familiar and specific by names'? Or — 
does the expression of song depend on an associa- 
tion between the elements used by it, and those of 
speech, the former assuming the agreeable effect 
of the latter, without their definite meaning? 

We are now prepared to sum up the differences 
between song and speech. 

The Discrete melody, though the least removed 
from speech, is still remarkably distinguished from 
it by the effect of the protracted note, and by the 
more frequent occurrence of wider transitions in 
the radical change. 

In the most complicated form of Concrete song, 



580 A GRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

for I thus choose the extreme cases, the difference 
consists in the sort, number and uses of its move- 
ments. — The range of its melodial compass ex- 
ceeds that of speech. The compound stress, in the 
form of the shake and in the rapid run of divisions, 
is the most frequent constituent of airs of agility; 
but is never used in quick time in the speaking 
voice. The only function common to both is the 
equable concrete, which is sometimes set to the 
short syllables of song; though it is not then recog- 
nised as a feature of speech. The wider waves, 
too, are occasionally used for emphasis in discourse: 
but the combination of the arsis and thesis, into this 
movement, occurs perpetually in the florid song. 

We are now able to comprehend why persons 
who sing with the greatest execution are rarely 
or never good readers. One cause may be assign- 
ed in the difference of the respective movements; 
particularly the want of the full command over the 
equable concrete in all its modes of time, by sing- 
ers, since they rarely employ it except for the short 
quantities of the comic song. But the principal rea- 
son why those who are distinguished for vocal flex- 
ibility in elaborate composition, are generally very 
indifferent actors, is, because this intricate execu- 
tion is always made with a sacrifice of expression. 
I have shown that on some points the expression 
of song and speech is identical ; and that even when 
the former does not convey the special sentiments 
of speech by the use of its intonations, still it has 
a meaning of its own, however indefinite it may 
be. But the practice of the bravura song, with 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 5$ J 

some rare exceptions, exhibits a total disregard of 
the instinctive intonation of passion. In it, the long 
and the short, the radical explosion and the median 
swell, the diatonic succession and the chromatic, 
the plaintive and the laughing tremor, and dis- 
crete transitions from the deepest bass to the pierc- 
ing falsette, are made to play with each other in 
every mode of permutation. In short, as the voice, 
like the throat of the mocking-bird, mingles all its 
possibilities, without regard to design, the singer 
thereby confuses that natural association between 
sentiment and symbol, which good speaking always 
requires, and which should also be the character- 
istic of song. If I had the opportunities of Euro- 
pean experience, I might speak with more univer- 
sality and precision, but, as far as I have observed, 
Singers who excel in the florid execution, are not 
often gifted with nicety or comprehensiveness of 
conception, nor with that sensibility which is apt to 
accompany or to constitute a delicate organization 
of ear. For the temperament of a singer can as 
readily be perceived, in his peculiar management 
of intonation, as the mind and feeling of a writer 
can be gathered from his style. 

A musical ear is only the exercise of attentive 
observation by this sense; and I am convinced that 
the most finished powers of elocution must always 
be grounded on the discriminations which it implies. 
I have heard some renowned actors who were well 
skilled in the discrete song, and to a certain degree 
in the concrete: and whilst I believe that, with the 
proper discipline of the schools, they could have 



582 A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF 

attained all the flexibility of the higher execution, 
I have very little doubt that if such a power had 
been reached and much practised, it would have 
destroyed all that command over the equable con- 
crete, which made them the full organ of the tra- 
gic poet. Mrs. Siddons might perhaps have joined 
voice with the incomparable Mara, in the expres- 
sive songs of Handel or Mozart, without impairing 
her power over Shakspeare. But she would have 
been lost forever to all the mind and soul of speech, 
if she had been trained with Catalani, to that won- 
derful function and facility which was able to out- 
strip even the fashion-serving contrivances of the 
composers of the day. 

Of Recitative. 

I gave but a brief analysis of song, because I had 
described all its elements minutely in the history 
of speech. I shall be even shorter on the subject 
of recitative, since I have already given the whole 
of its resolution under other names. 

The species of intonation which I have repre- 
sented as properly belonging to it, consists of a pro- 
tracted note on the radical, and a subsequent van- 
ish. It is here represented in the progression of 
a scale. 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 583 

Recitative also employs the arsis and thesis in 
its other modes of junction with the note j the dif- 
ferent species of the wave ; the various forms of 
stress ; the equable concrete ; and, indeed, there is 
no function which has been noted as a constituent 
of speech and song, which is not to be found either 
under a general or partial use in recitative. 

The quality of voice does not differ from that of 
song. 

The time of recitative, as regards individual syl- 
lables, is the same as in song. There are, how- 
ever, some peculiarities on this point, in relation 
to composition and accompaniment, which do not 
belong to the design of the present analysis. 

Notwithstanding all these similarities, recitative 
is readily distinguished, even by the common ear, 
from every other species of intonation. Now this 
broad distinction grows out of the following cha- 
racteristics. 

First. — The syllabic time is generally shorter. 

Secondly. — The long quantities are made by the 
prolongation of the radical. 

Thirdly. — The equable concrete prevails more 
commonly than in grave or elevated song. 

It may be granted that this last feature might 
distinguish recitative from song of the more digni- 
fied sort; but how is its melody, in the equable 
concrete, to be known from that of speech, or from 
the comic song which frequently employs the same 
syllabic movement? 

With regard to the gayer kind of song, the truth 
is, the concretes in the two cases are identical ; and 



584 A BE1EP ANALYSIS Oi 

the comic melody as far as it is executed in the sim- 
ple arsis, is no other than recitative. 

When recitative runs upon the equable concrete 
it is distiioguished from speech, by two peculiari- 
ties. First, the successions of melody in the former, 
consist of skips, whereas the progress of the greater 
part of speech is by proximate degrees. But se- 
condly, it is further distinguished from speech, by 
the equable concrete being more conspicuously set 
on every syllable. In the speaking voice, the radi- 
cal and vanish, though really made on every syl- 
lable, is remarkably impressed on the ear, only by 
those which are long and accented, but in recita- 
tive the orthoepy of words is destroyed by every 
syllable being made equally attractive through the 
similar length of the equable concrete appropriated 
to each. In this respect it resembles the carica- 
ture of a Frenchman's pronunciation of English, 
which consists principally in the equality of accen- 
tual force on every syllable. Some persons who 
have not a musical ear, are still able to give the 
melody or the radical pitch of an air : but they 
execute it in the equable concrete. The effect is 
peculiar; and I dare say the reader may have 
heard it. It is part of the structure of recitative. 

The ordinary compositions in recitative which we 
hear, consist of the above-mentioned characteristics 
mingled every way with divisions, shakes, notes, 
waves, and, in short, with all the constituents of 
song. But it is through the equable concrete that 
it produces all its expressive effects. 

Perhaps we might argue from the case of reci- 



SONG AND RECITATIVE. 585 

tative, that the principles of expression in song are 
related to those of speech: and we might so far 
amuse ourselves with a theory of its invention, as to 
imagine that the powers of ordinary song, not being 
equal to the full delineation of sentiment, the more 
free introduction of the equable concrete, became 
necessary. That this mode of intonation, when 
grafted on the melody of song, and mingled with 
the long radical note, does constitute the character 
of recitative, will be admitted by observing that. 
in this kind of composition, whenever the equable 
concrete and the protracted radical, are not recog- 
nised, the effect does not differ from that of song:. 
All those parts which consist of waves and tre- 
mors and forms of the compound stress, — for re- 
citative sometimes plays its tricks of agility, — all 
these, I say, are soi>g itself. 

Here I conclude the cursory view of the physi- 
ological functions of song and recitative: having 
avoided therein, every thing like a practical consid- 
eration of the subject. Some one better qualified 
than myself, may be disposed to prosecute the in- 
quiry. An investigation of the nature of expres- 
sion in song, according to the hints here thrown 
out, would be interesting, and might be successful. 
Nothing could give me more pleasure than to as- 
sist in its development. But this would lead me 
from some other designs of duty -, and I have too 
impatient a perception of the wasted experience, 
and profitless logic, which daily present themselves 
in the changeful errors of my profession, — not to 
desire to use in its service, a method of philosophy 
4f 



5S6 A BRIEF ANALYSIS, &c. 

which I hope will be found to have been effectual 
here. 

For reasons which are known to more than to ray- 
self, but which the public need not at present know, 
I laid aside a Practical work on Medicine, with 
the view of undertaking and completing this, — 
and I am now going to resume it. 



THE END. 



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